-FM hopes new consulate to boost trade, investment cooperation
DM Monitoring
BERLIN, (Germany): In a bid to tap economic potential with Germany, Pakistan will soon open a consulate in Munich, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi announced on Tuesday.
Talking to media persons in the German capital, Qureshi said Pakistan and Germany had high prospects of cooperation in trade and investment and expressed confidence that the new consulate would pace up the development in this regard. The foreign minister said a Consul General would be appointed at the Munich mission to supplement the diplomatic efforts of embassy in Berlin.
He said Pakistan was committed to work out the Strategic Engagement Plan of Europe. He said Pakistan could explore cooperation with Germany particularly in areas of information technology, solar energy and electric vehicles. He expressed satisfaction that around 5,000 Pakistani students were currently studying at various educational institutions in Germany, adding that nation’s visionary poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal also studied at an institute in Munich.
Qureshi said efforts would be made to expand the scope of cooperation in education sector by engaging Higher Education Commission so that Germany could become a top destination for Pakistani students. In a meeting with a representative delegation of the Pakistani diaspora in Germany, Qureshi said the government was making serious efforts to give the right of vote to the Pakistanis living abroad.
He said the option of electronic voting was under consideration to facilitate the expatriates. FM Qureshi acknowledged the services of the Pakistani community, terming it an important linkage for strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries. He mentioned that the government had launched the ‘Digital Roshan Pakistan’ project for easy transfer of money through legal means.
The foreign minister apprised the delegation of the useful meeting with his German counterpart, adding that the two countries were taking their bilateral and economic cooperation to a new level. The delegation lauded FM Qureshi’s efforts to promote bilateral relations with Germany and thanked him for the announcement of opening a consulate in Munich.
The FM also visited the Pakistan embassy in Berlin where Ambassador Dr Muhammad Faisal warmly received him. He inaugurated a ‘Football Enclave’ at the embassy marking the export of 50 million footballs from Pakistan to Germany annually. Qureshi also approved appointment of an ‘Arzi Nawees’ at the embassy to aid with online application forms for those in need free of charge. He reviewed working of different sections of the embassy including the consular section and expressed satisfaction over the facilities.
