By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday said promoting economic and trade cooperation among member countries of South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) would help reduce poverty in the region and improve living standards of its people.
In a meeting with President SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Iftikhar Malik, Vice President Senator Haji Ghulam Ali and Executive Member Zubair Ahmad Malik, the Foreign Minister discussed various issues of mutual interests including promotion of trade relations among SAARC countries. Qureshi regretted that the volume of trade between SAARC member countries was very low and stressed to enhance it.
The Foreign Minister congratulated Iftikhar Malik on his election as president of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Iftikhar Malik briefed the Foreign Minister about the new building of SAARC Chamber Headquarters in Islamabad.
He assured the Foreign Minister that as president of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce, he would do his utmost to promote trade and economic cooperation between
the SAARC member countries.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah MAhmood Qureshi on Monday said Pakistan attached great importance to its bilateral relations with Sri Lanka as both countries always stood by each other in difficult times.
The Foreign Minister stated this in a meeting with Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Pakistan Vice Admiral (Retd) Mohan Vijay Vikrama, who called on him here at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the meeting, various issues of mutual interest were discussed, including the promotion of bilateral relations.
FM Qureshi said Pakistan considered SAARC as an important platform for promoting economic development in the region and desired it’s more active role to ensure peace and stability.The foreign minister congratulated the Sri Lankan ambassador on assuming the office of High Commissioner and hoped that it would further enhance bilateral cooperation in various fields.
The foreign minister extended felicitations to Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his party on the remarkable victory in recent elections in his country and wished them well. The foreign minister also recalled his visit to Sri Lanka last December and his meetings with the country’s leadership. He stressed the need for exchange of high-level delegations between Pakistan and Sri Lanka The Sri Lankan high commissioner thanked the foreign minister for his good wishes and acknowledged that Pakistan always stood by Sri Lanka in difficult times.
Earlier, The newly appointed ambassador of Qatar Sheikh Saud bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani called on Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi here on Monday and discussed bilateral relations between the two countries. FM Qureshi said that Pakistan enjoyed deep, long-standing and fraternal relations with Qatar, in a meeting held here at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He congratulated the ambassador of Qatar on assuming his responsibilities in Pakistan and hoped that it would further strengthen Pak-Qatar relations and enhance bilateral cooperation to achieve peace, stability and prosperity in the region.
The ambassador conveyed the message of best wishes from Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to the leadership and people of Pakistan.
