ISLAMABAD - Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday held a meeting with European envoys based in Islamabad as part of government’s efforts to promote economic diplomacy.
The meeting was attended by envoys from Italy, Germany, France, Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Norway, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Russia, Ukraine, Spain, Greece, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Portugal, Belgium and UK.
In his remarks, the Foreign Minister said that the purpose of the meeting was to review Pakistan’s economic engagement with European countries, identify impediments to fulfilling its true potential, and chart a way forward. In this regard, he shared with the envoys the outcome of his two recent virtual meetings with Pakistani heads of mission in Europe.
Highlighting Europe’s position as Pakistan’s largest trading partner, Qureshi underscored the importance of consolidating and expanding Pakistan’s economic outreach with the continent.
The Foreign Minister said that, under the GSP Plus scheme, Pakistan’s bilateral trade with EU had doubled over the past eight years. There, however, was still room to realise the full potential.
Despite COVID-19 pandemic, Pakistan’s exports to and investments from many European countries had increased.
The Foreign Minister underlined the importance of addressing bottlenecks that could hamper mutually beneficial economic collaboration. He highlighted the need to strengthen the mechanism of JECs. In this regard, a calendar of JECs to be held in 2021 was being finalised.
He apprised the European envoys of various reforms introduced by the government to improve business and investment climate which had brought an impressive improvement in Pakistan’s Ease of Doing Business ranking.
Welcoming the support extended to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s ‘Global Initiative on Debt Relief’ for developing countries, the Foreign Minister said that more was needed to be done. He stressed the need for coordinated efforts to combat the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The participating envoys appreciated the Foreign Minister’s efforts to promote mutually beneficial economic partnerships and offered valuable suggestions.
This was the second region-specific interaction focused on economic diplomacy held this year. The first one was held with African Envoys in January.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Qureshi had a telephone call with Foreign Minister of Norway Ine Eriksen Søreide.
“Matters relating to bilateral, regional and international importance including Afghanistan and Covid-19 situation were discussed. The two foreign ministers also exchanged views on enhancing cooperation in diverse sectors such as trade, investment and clean energy,” he said.
The Foreign Minister appreciated the growing business relations between Pakistan and Norway and expressed satisfaction at Norwegian investment in Pakistan.
The Foreign Minister of Norway appreciated the role of government of Pakistan in facilitating the signing of solar power project between Scatec and Nizam Energy. She also lauded the constructive role of Norwegians of Pakistani origin in the economic development of Norway.
On Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Qureshi said that there was no military solution to the conflict. He briefed his Norwegian counterpart on Pakistan’s positive contribution to the Afghan peace process and expressed the hope that the Afghan leaders would seize this historic opportunity to secure an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement.
“Pakistan highly values its relations with Norway which is home to one of the largest Pakistani diasporas in Europe. The telephone call between the two foreign ministers was part of the regular high-level exchanges between the two sides,” said a foreign ministry statement.