Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday said that Pakistan wanted to enhance its relations with the United Kingdom (UK), the Republic of Korea, and Malawi in the fields of trade, economy, and culture.
The president made these remarks while talking to the High Commissioner-designates of the United Kingdom and Malawi, and the Ambassador-designate of the Republic of Korea to Pakistan.
The envoys presented their diplomatic credentials to the president and separately called on him, at Aiwan-e-Sadr.
Talking to Jane Marriot, the UK’s High Commissioner to Pakistan, the president said that Pakistan attached utmost significance to its longstanding ties with the UK, which were grounded in historic connections and enduring people-to-people linkages.
He remarked that both countries needed to further expand and promote economic and trade relations for the mutual benefit of the two sides. He also lauded the contributions of the Pakistani diaspora in the UK towards its socio-economic development. President Alvi underscored the need for strengthening cultural ties and people-to-people contacts.
He highlighted that both governments were committed to establishing and maintaining a more robust and long-term relationship.
He also urged that the world needed to prevent and discourage the incidents of the Islamophobia in the world. Speaking to Park Ki Jun, the ambassador of the Republic of Korea, the president said that Pakistan highly valued its multidimensional relationship with Korea, encompassing political, economic, scientific, cultural, and people-to-people linkages.
He mentioned that Pakistan and Korea had tremendous potential to increase bilateral trade to further strengthen economic relations. He said that Pakistan was open for business and investment, and would welcome Korean investment in all sectors of its economy. The president informed that Pakistan offered some of the most exotic mountaineering and religious Buddhist sites, and would welcome Korean tourists to visit and explore these sites.
Talking to Younos Abdul Karim, the high commissioner of Malawi to Pakistan, the president expressed Pakistan’s deep appreciation for its historical and brotherly ties with Malawi, which were marked by shared interests, values, and goals.
He stressed the need for expanding economic, political, and cultural relations between the two countries.
The president congratulated the envoys on their appointments and expressed the hope that they would play their role to further boost bilateral cooperation with Pakistan.
Earlier, President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday called for enhanced Chinese investment in various sectors of Pakistan’s economy, particularly in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to further strengthen bilateral economic cooperation.
The president, in a meeting with Special Representative of the Chinese President Xi Jinping, and the Vice-Premier of the State Council of China, He Lifeng, who along with members of his delegation called on him, said that Pakistan was desirous of Chinese cooperation and support to strengthen its agriculture, information technology (IT), transport, and textile sectors.
Welcoming the delegation, the president highlighted that Pakistan and China enjoyed an All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership and always stood by each other in difficult times.
He added that Pakistan and China had a unique relationship and the world must learn from the time-tested friendship between the two brotherly countries.
He appreciated that bilateral relations between the two countries had continued to expand to new areas of cooperation.
Talking about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), President Alvi said that CPEC would transform the economic landscape of Pakistan, besides bringing prosperity to the region.
He added that CPEC had considerably helped in overcoming the shortage of electricity in Pakistan. He maintained that Pakistan would continue to extend firm support to China on all its core issues.
The president expressed gratitude for China’s principled stance on the Jammu and Kashmir Dispute, apart from thanking the Chinese Government for providing financial support to Pakistan in difficult times.
He congratulated the Vice-Premier on the conferment of the award of Hilal-i-Pakistan on him and appreciated his contributions towards promoting Pak-China friendship and successfully overseeing the implementation of CPEC projects.
Conveying his gratitude to the president, the Chinese vice-premier recalled President Dr Arif Alvi’s solidarity visit to China in March 2020, saying that the visit would be remembered by the people of China as he undertook it during a difficult time despite the risks of COVID-19 pandemic.
He noted with delight that CPEC had brought significant transformation in Pakistan’s socio-economic and infrastructural landscape and was now poised to further enhance Pakistan’s economic, trade, and connectivity profile in the entire region and beyond.
The vice-premier apprised the president about the measures taken by the Chinese government for the elimination of poverty in China. He thanked the president for the conferment of Hilal-i-Pakistan on him in recognition of his services.
He also conveyed the best wishes of Chinese President Xi Jinping to President Dr Arif Alvi.
