Collective Call on the Adviser by the African Heads of Mission

Heads of eleven African Missions based in Islamabad made a collective call on Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Mr. Sartaj Aziz, today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to commemorate the ‘Africa Day’, which falls on 25 May every year.

The Adviser reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to enhancing relations with Africa and deepening cooperation in all fields of mutual inertest. He identified contacts at the political level, trade and investment, defence, cooperation at multilateral forums and utilization of scholarships in the field of diplomacy and other disciplines offered by Pakistan to African countries under its Technical Assistance Programme as priority areas in this regard. He also underscored the significance of bilateral consultations at various levels for further development of relations with African countries.

Speaking in his capacity as the Dean of African Diplomatic Missions in Pakistan, Ambassador of Egypt H.E. Mr. Said Mohamed Al Said Hindam thanked the Adviser for the Ministry’s initiative to celebrate the Africa Day. He reciprocated the desire of African countries to further deepen relations with Pakistan and highlighted that trade volume between Pakistan and Africa had increased last year due to exchange of several official and business delegations and emphasized the need for increasing frequency of such visits. During the discussion, ideas were also exchanged on promoting cultural ties to enhance people-to-people contacts.

The Ambassador appreciated Pakistan’s role in bringing ‘a good deal of stability’ to the African continent as part of the UN Peacekeeping Missions.

During the meeting, views were also exchanged on regional situation including Yemen crisis and the threat posed by various terrorist groups to the peace and stability of the region. The Adviser informed the African Heads of Mission about the measures taken by Pakistan to combat and eliminate terrorism from Pakistan.

The call was followed by lunch hosted by the Adviser, which was also attended by Senator Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, Senator Nuzhat Sadiq, Chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Syed Tariq Fatemi, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs.

The Adviser appreciated the role of African Heads of Missions in promoting relations with Pakistan.

Islamabad
1 June 2015

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