Islamabad, 11 Feb 2021 : As part of Government’s economic outreach initiative and in line with Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s focus, the fourth virtual Envoys meeting on Economic Diplomacy was held. The meeting, chaired by the Foreign Minister, focused on Europe. Pakistan’s Mission in Athens, Berlin, Brussels, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Minsk, Lisbon, Prague, Sarajevo, Sofia, and Vienna participated in the meeting.
Emphasizing the growing importance of geo-economics in international politics, the Foreign Minister highlighted Economic Diplomacy as a key component of modern diplomatic practice. He stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Missions abroad were at the forefront of safeguarding and advancing Pakistan’s economic interests. They played an important role in initiatives like the Prime Minister’s Global Initiative on Debt Relief for Developing Countries, Prime Minister’s Economic Outreach Initiative (EOI), and the Roshan Digital Account.
The Foreign Minister encouraged Envoys to cultivate and broaden mutually beneficial trade and economic partnerships with European countries, focusing on key goals of trade promotion, financial inflows, investments, remittances, tourism and technology transfer.
Underscoring the importance of consolidating and expanding Pakistan’s economic outreach with Europe, Foreign Minister Qureshi noted that the GSP Plus Scheme had played a vital role in doubling Pakistan’s trade with the EU countries in the last eight years. He stressed the need to diversify exports to the EU countries to fully utilizing the benefits under the GSP Plus status.
The Foreign Minister appreciated the increased inflow of investment from Europe to Pakistan and asked the Missions to proactively engage the relevant European Ministries, agencies, corporations and investors to showcase the investment potential in the country. Highlighting the government’s continued efforts to attract foreign direct investment, the Foreign Minister observed that in the last two years Pakistan had climbed 39 positions in the Ease of Doing Business ranking.
Foreign Minister Qureshi also instructed the Envoys to identify and address bottlenecks and hurdles that hinder expansion of economic relations between the two sides.
During the virtual meeting, the Pakistani Envoys apprised the Foreign Minister of their activities and programmes in economic and commercial domains. They briefed the Foreign Minister about measures to strengthen existing linkages and forging new ones for enhanced economic collaboration with Europe.
In keeping with Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision, Foreign Minister Qureshi has consistently underscored to promote economic diplomacy and enhance Pakistan economic engagements. Regular virtual meetings and interactions on Economic Diplomacy with Pakistani Envoys in key capitals are part of these efforts.
