By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Friday said Pakistan attached utmost importance to its ties with Cuba and wanted to enhance bilateral cooperation in areas of trade, economy, health and culture.
The President stated this while talking to the outgoing Cuban Ambassador Gabriel Tiel Capote, here at Aiwan-e-Sadr.
President Alvi said both countries needed to identify and explore areas of trade and investment cooperation.
He also stressed the need for cultural and parliamentary exchanges between the two countries. Dr Alvi said Pakistan deeply appreciated the Cuban assistance in the wake of 2005 earthquake by sending medical teams and providing scholarships to Pakistani medical students.
The President congratulated the envoy on successful completion of his tenure in Pakistan and expressed best wishes for his future endeavors. Days earlier, President Alvi said that Pakistan wants to further improve economic ties with Djibouti for mutual benefit of the two brotherly countries.
He said this during a meeting with a visiting Djibouti parliamentary delegation, led by President of National Parliament of Djibouti and acting-Chairman of African Union Parliament, Mohamed Ali Houmed on Wednesday.
Both Pakistan and Djibouti reiterated their desire to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the areas of commerce, culture and defence.
While welcoming the delegation, the president sought the support of the government of Djibouti to expeditiously process and clear Pakistani goods at Djibouti port meant for Ethiopia and other destinations in the Horn of Africa.
President Mohamed Ali Houmed underscored the need for expanding bilateral cooperation in every sphere, including culture, trade and defence. He said that Gwadar and Djibouti ports would help boost trade between the two brotherly countries.
Both sides emphasised the need for parliamentary, cultural and defence exchanges which would help in bringing the two countries further closer.
Earlier, Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani had said that Pakistan has envisaged a renewed “Engage Africa Policy” to strengthen its ties with all African countries and has decided to increase its diplomatic missions there in addition to opening its embassy in Djibouti owing to the growing economic and political importance of the African region.
He said that exchange of parliamentary delegations would steer the plan for enhanced economic, political and defence cooperation not only between Pakistan and Djibouti but also with other African countries.
The Senate chairman said that Pakistan is looking forward to vibrant interactions to share experiences of public sector reforms, technical cooperation, infrastructure development and private investment with the African nations.
Sanjrani told the delegation that trade between Pakistan and landlocked Ethiopia took place through Djibouti and Pakistan needed special treatment for expeditious delivery of goods to Ethiopia. He emphasised the need for devising a special package for Pakistani investors and entrepreneurs looking to invest and provide quality services in the Djibouti International Free Trade Zone (DIFTZ) as it had been attracting investment from China, Italy, France, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and other countries.
