By Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday apprised his German counterpart Heiko Maas on Islamabad’s steadfast support for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan and contributions to the peace process.
In a meeting held during the Maas’ brief visit to Islamabad, Qureshi underscored the importance of responsible withdrawal and steady progress by the domestic stakeholders towards a negotiated political settlement.
He stressed that all efforts should be made for the reduction of violence leading to a ceasefire.
Qureshi said that the Afghan stakeholders must engage constructively to work out an inclusive, broad-based, and comprehensive political solution, through an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led process. Cautioning against the role of spoilers, the foreign minister also underlined the importance of commitment and perseverance in the efforts for peace. He underscored that peace in Afghanistan would yield other significant dividends including enhanced trade and regional connectivity.
During the meeting, Qureshi also thanked Germany for its efforts to ensure the earliest possible provision of vaccine shots through the COVAX initiative. Qureshi also recalled his recent visit to Berlin and expressed gratitude for the warm welcome accorded to him there and appreciated its fruitful outcome.
He underlined the importance of regular high-level exchanges between Pakistan and Germany and maintaining a steady upward trajectory in the ties. The two foreign ministers reviewed bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Qureshi underscored the importance of enhancing mutual cooperation and collaboration to combat the pandemic in a holistic manner. He also highlighted Pakistan’s shifting focus from geo-politics to geo-economics, within the perspective of the economic security paradigm. Pakistan and Germany enjoy cordial relations based on shared interests. The two foreign ministers have regularly been interacting bilaterally as well as at the international fora.
According to the Foreign Office, 2021 marked the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Germany and a range of events were envisaged by the two governments to celebrate this milestone in a befitting manner.
Moreover, Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi Thursday received German counterpart Heiko Maas here wherein he thanked the German side for its efforts to ensure earliest possible provision of vaccine through the COVAX initiative.
In a meeting held during the brief visit of German foreign minister, Foreign Minister Qureshi recalled his own recent visit to Berlin and expressed gratitude for the warm welcome accorded to him and appreciated the fruitful outcome of the visit. He underlined the importance of regular high-level exchanges between Pakistan and Germany and maintaining a steady upward trajectory in the relationship.
The two foreign ministers reviewed bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic. Foreign Minister Qureshi underscored the importance of enhancing mutual cooperation, and collaboration to combat the pandemic in a holistic manner. He apprised his German counterpart on Pakistan’s steadfast support for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan and positive contributions to the Afghan peace process.
Qureshi underscored the importance of responsible withdrawal and steady progress by the Afghan parties towards a negotiated political settlement. He added that all efforts must be made for reduction of violence leading to ceasefire. The Foreign Minister stressed that the Afghan stakeholders must engage constructively to work out an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political solution, through an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led process. Cautioning against the role of ‘spoilers’, the foreign minister also underlined the importance of commitment and perseverance in the efforts for peace. Qureshi underscored that peace in Afghanistan would yield other significant dividends including enhanced trade and regional connectivity.
He also highlighted Pakistan’s shifting focus from geo-politics to geo-economics, within the perspective of economic security paradigm.
Pakistan and Germany enjoy cordial relations based on shared interests. The two foreign ministers have regularly been interacting bilaterally as well as at the international fora. The year 2021 marks the 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Germany.
