Qureshi chairs meeting on economic diplomacy
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi addresses the United Nations Human Rights Council on September 10, 2019 in Geneva. (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)
Islamabad: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi Wednesday chaired a virtual meeting on Economic Diplomacy with participation from Pakistan’s Envoys to Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
While underscoring the growing significance of geo-economics in international politics, the Foreign Minister stated that Economic Diplomacy had assumed center stage in modern diplomatic practice. Highlighting the valuable role played by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its Missions abroad in safeguarding Pakistan’s economic interests, he stated that the Ministry and the Missions were pivotal in the successful implementation of the Government’s initiatives/programmes like the Prime Minister’s ‘Global Initiative on Debt Relief’ for developing countries, Economic Outreach Initiative (EOI), and the Roshan Digital Account Initiative.
FM Qureshi asked Envoys to cultivate and broaden mutually beneficial trade and economic partnerships with Europe, focusing on trade promotion, financial inflows, investments, remittances, tourism and technology transfer. He further emphasized the need to constructively engage with Parliamentarians in Europe with a view to maximizing avenues of economic outreach and collaboration. Foreign Minister Qureshi also instructed the Envoys to work on removing bottlenecks that hinder expansion of economic collaboration with host countries and identifying new sectors for promotion of economic cooperation with Europe.
In order to expand Pakistan’s economic outreach to Europe and to maximize trade gains under the GSP Plus Scheme, the Foreign Minister emphasized the need for diversification of exports. While expressing satisfaction with increased inflow of remittances/investment, the Foreign Minister asked Envoys to showcase the investment potential of the country.
Highlighting the Government’s robust reform measures for improvement of business climate in Pakistan, he shared that Pakistan’s ranking in Ease of Doing Business had significantly improved. Pakistan had secured 6th place among the world’s top 10 business climate improvers.
During the meeting, the Envoys apprised the Foreign Minister about their respective Mission’s activities in the economic and commercial domains. They also shared their action plans to deepen Pakistan’s economic footprint in Europe.
In keeping with Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision, Foreign Minister Qureshi has consistently stressed on promotion of Economic Diplomacy and increased economic cooperation with partner countries. Regular virtual meetings and interactions on Economic Diplomacy with Pakistani Envoys in key capitals are part of these efforts. This was the sixth meeting of the series.
