Meeting of Minister of State Hina Rabbani Khar and Italian Minister Frattini
(2011-05-17)
Minister of State for Foreign and Economic Affairs, Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar called on Italian Foreign Minister Frattini today at the Farnesina. They had a long and focused meeting on international and bilateral topics.
The Pakistani Minister participated in the Conference “Global Governance and Security Council Reform” held yesterday at the Farnesina. The talks with Minister Frattini allowed to further discuss the Security Council Reform and to jointly explore possible common initiatives to go ahead on a democratic and inclusive reform.
They discussed different initiatives to further strengthen the already existing very good bilateral cooperation at political, economic and cultural level, further using the strong potentialities. On behalf of the Italian government, Minister Frattini expressed Italy’s confidence and full support to Pakistan and its internal consolidation, stressing the central importance for regional and international security.
Minister Frattini also stressed the importance given by Italy to the respect and protection of minorities and religious freedom in Pakistan recalling the former Minister for Religious Minorities Shabaz Bhatti and appreciating the Pakistani government’s engagement in consolidating the interreligious dialogue and tolerance within the country.
They also discussed the relations between Pakistan and European Union also considering the EU-Pakistan summit scheduled in the second half of this year. Considering Pakistan’s strategic importance, the Italian government has already been engaged in widening the political relations between Islamabad and Bruxelles as well as in favour of a greater access for Pakistani products into the European markets. Minister Frattini confirmed Italy’s commitment within the “Friends of Democratic Pakistan” group at European level to promote international economic assistance projects in order to overcome economic, humanitarian and social problems after the recent floods. In this regard, they also examined the main Italian cooperation programmes in Pakistan for which Minister Rabbani Khar thanked the Italian government.
Islamabad
17 May 2011