Pakistan and Indonesia agree to expand cooperation

(2009-05-26)

On the sidelines of the 9th ASEM Foreign Minister’s Meeting in Hanoi, the Foreign Secretary Mr. Salman Bashir yesterday (25 May 2009) met the Foreign Minister of Indonesia Dr. N. Hassan Wirajuda.

The Foreign Minister of Indonesia expressed satisfaction at long-standing and brotherly relations between the two largest Muslim countries. He reiterated Indonesia’s support for Pakistan’s bid for Full Dialogue Partnership and noted Pakistan’s desire to have higher-level political and economic integration with ASEAN. He briefed the Foreign Secretary on various regional initiatives, both inside and outside ASEAN’s auspices, to tackle the global financial crisis.

The Indonesian Foreign Minister appreciated Pakistan’s role in regional stability and campaign against religious extremism and terrorism.

Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir thanked the Foreign Minister for Indonesia’s role in strengthening Pakistan’s close association with the East-Asian region. He emphasized that despite the present security challenges, national development agenda remained the Pakistan government’s top priority. In this context, he stressed that regional and trans-regional linkages were essential to realize the full economic potential.

The Foreign Secretary also briefed the Indonesian Foreign Minister on the regional security situation and various trilateral processes of engagement with Afghanistan, particularly the President’s recent visit to Iran for the Pakistan- Afghanistan-Iran Summit.

Islamabad
26 May 2009

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