Pakistan and Brazil fortify relations

Pakistan and Brazil fortify relations
Susan Faria
Fotos: Eliane Loin
Pakistanis people are partying this Monday, when the country celebrates 70 years of its independence. It is the sixth most populous nation in the world. In Brasilia, Pakistan’s new Ambassador Najm us Saqib, 56, is working to make bilateral relations stronger. Married, father of four, lawyer, writer, masters in National Security and War Studies, and career diplomat, Saqib granted an exclusive interview to Embassy Brasilia Magazine on August 1st.
The Pakistani Ambassador speaks fluent English and Spanish. He is the author of six books, four of poetry and two novels. Received the “Excellence in Literature Award 2011” by the Bolan Academy of Pakistan. He assumed the position two months ago and considers Brazil a close partner of his country in several fields. “Our business and economic relations have grown steadily,” he says. As a diplomat, in addition to representing Pakistan in several international conferences and meetings, the Ambassador served in Bangladesh, Spain, Azerbaijan, Kenya and Canada. He was the first resident Ambassador of Pakistan in Cuba (2007 to 2010). His last post – before arriving in Brasilia – was in South Africa, with concurrent accreditation to Namibia, Mozambique, Lesotho, Botswana and Swaziland, (2014 to 2017). He is currently the Ambassador of Pakistan to Brazil with concurrent accreditation to Bolivia, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela.

Embassy Brasilia Magazine – Tell us a little about your biography, about the Family environment you lived in Pakistan.

Najm us Saqib – I was fortunate to be born and raised in a literary family from Sialkot (important railway, industry and commerce center, in Punjab). At home, there were literary books everywhere. My mother explained and introduced me to Shakespeare, Keats, Iqbal, Ghalib and others when I was very young. My father, that passed away in 1967, was a master in mathematics. My parents taught me the values of being honest and worthy. I wanted to be a poet, my mother wanted me to join the Foreign Service. Somehow, both the wishes came true.

Embassy Brasilia Magazine – What is required to become an efficient diplomat?

Najm us Saqib – Knowledge about your country, who you are, what your goals are and how you will achieve your goals for your country. Understanding of the issues is a prerequisite.

Embassy Brasilia Magazine – How is it to be in the diplomatic career for three decades?

Najm us Saqib – Being a member of Pakistan’s prestigious Foreign Service has been a source of pride for me for the past 32 years. Working for my country continues to be a source of satisfaction, whether it is a bilateral agreement, projecting Pakistan as a progressive and democratic country, serving the Pakistani community abroad, helping to increase our exports, bringing investments to my country or introducing its rich heritage – literature, culture, and value system from Pakistan to the outside world.

Embassy Brasilia Magazine – What defines the foreign policy of a country?

Najm us Saqib -The vision of the future plays an important role in defining the contours of both a domestic policy and a foreign policy. The policy of our founding father, Quaid-e-Azam, of “peace within and peace without” is the vision of Pakistan.

Embassy Brasilia Magazine – How is Pakistan today?

Najm us Saqib – Participatory democracy is growing in Pakistan. People at grass-roots level are aware of their rights. The peace-loving people of Pakistan share a common future vision with the rest of the world: to live in a world where peace and prosperity prevail. Pakistan, being the 6th largest nation of the world, has the world’s largest irrigation system and has the world’s largest volunteer ambulance organization. The world’s largest deep sea port and the world’s largest Wi Max network are in Pakistan. Pakistan’s contribution in UN Peacekeeping is world’s number one. Pakistan hasone of the highest FMCG growth rates in the region i.e. at 15-20% per year. Today’s Pakistan has record holders of most A’s in Cambridge exams in the world and has produced the world’s youngest certified Microsoft experts. Pakistan is the world’s 8th biggest wheat and rice producer, 5th largest producer of milk, 4th largest sugarcane, cotton and apricot producer and 3rd largest mango producer. Pakistan is the pioneer of east and west musical fusion. We are the cricket world cup champions in 1992 and 2009. Pakistan is also the proud manufacturer of “Brazuca” football, which was used in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Brazilian football team is our favourite.
Embassy Brasilia Magazine – What does Pakistan export?

Najm us Saqib – We export textiles and fabrics of all kinds, from sheets to shirts. We have the best rice in the world, great variety of mango and related leather goods, sports and surgical and hospital instruments. We have qualified workers. There is a wide range of exportable items. It is a long list.

Embassy Brasilia Magazine – Have these products been reaching Brazil and what are the imports from Brazil?

Najm us Saqib – We import soybean, iron, steel etc. from Brazil. We export all the aforementioned products, except mango.

Embassy Brasilia Magazine – Which are your priorities as Ambassador in Brazil?

Najm us Saqib – Increase and strengthen Pakistan’s bilateral relations with Brazil in all fields, especially in investment and trade. In my meetings with high officials of Brazil, I have identified many areas of cooperation. I see many similarities between the two countries.

The Portuguese text of the interview is available online at http://embassybrasilia.com.br/site/paquistao-e-brasil-fortificam-relacoes/