New York, September 28, 2018 (PPI-OT): The Foreign Minister today participated in the informal meeting of the Council of Ministers of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) held in New York on the side-lines of the General Assembly session. The meeting was hosted and chaired by the Foreign Minister of Nepal and was attended by the Foreign Ministers of the SAARC member states.

The Foreign Minister reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to SAARC’s principles and objectives and highlighted the Organization’s potential for promoting progress and prosperity in South Asia. He stressed that Pakistan considered SAARC an important platform for organizing a collective response to regional challenges, particularly the region’s development needs.

The Foreign Minister emphasized that one country was holding the 1.7 billion people of South Asia hostage, while making vague statements and unsubstantiated, whimsical allegations. The SAARC summit has already been delayed by two years, with no end in sight. Pakistan continued to insist that there was no alternate to communication, engagement and dialogue, and the attempt to scuttle the SAARC process, was actually the major impediment in ensuring the prosperity, eliminating poverty and instituting development for the peoples of the region.

He also pointed out that there was a general positivity within the rest of the membership to move forward on the holding of the summit, but one country was unnecessarily enacting hurdles and obstacles for its narrow gains. Pakistan remains ready to hold the SAARC summit, at any date agreed to by the SAARC member states.

For more information, contact:
Spokesman
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Government of Pakistan
Tell: +92-51-9205494
Fax: +92-51-9204202
Cell: +92-336-5644459
Website: www.mofa.gov.pk

New York, September 27, 2018 (PPI-OT): Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi met British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jeremy Hunt in New York on the side-lines of 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly. Foreign Minister Qureshi expressed satisfaction on current status of bilateral ties and hoped to further enhance cooperation in diverse areas such as trade, investment, development cooperation, investment and education.

Mr. Hunt congratulated Foreign Minister Qureshi on his appointment and conveyed his government’s desire to exchange cooperation with Pakistan in all areas of mutual interest. The Foreign Minister also briefed his counterpart on relations with Afghanistan and situation of grave human rights violations by Indian security forces in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

He said peace and stability in Afghanistan was a shared responsibility and Pakistan would continue to support the structured bilateral engagement plan through five working groups of Afghanistan Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) to address all matters of mutual interest. Secretary Hunt extended an invitation to Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to visit UK.

For more information, contact:
Spokesman
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Government of Pakistan
Tell: +92-51-9205494
Fax: +92-51-9204202
Cell: +92-336-5644459
Website: www.mofa.gov.pk

New York, September 27, 2018 (PPI-OT): Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi met Federica Mogherini, Vice President and High Representative of the European Union on Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the side-lines of 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly in New York. The two leaders discussed cooperation between Pakistan and the EU and highlighted the positive impact of GSP Plus on trade between Pakistan and the EU. They also agreed to continue to work together for strengthening cooperation in the fields of trade and investment, development, migration and peace and security.

The Foreign Minister also briefed the High Representative on the regional situation. He reiterated that an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process was the only viable option for a lasting peace in Afghanistan. Peace and stability in Afghanistan was in the best interest of all, including Pakistan and the region. Foreign Minister reiterated the invitation to the High Representative to visit to Pakistan in November this year for the Pakistan-EU Strategic Dialogue. The High Representative said she was looking forward to the visit.

For more information, contact:
Spokesman
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Government of Pakistan
Tell: +92-51-9205494
Fax: +92-51-9204202
Cell: +92-336-5644459
Website: www.mofa.gov.pk

New York, September 27, 2018 (PPI-OT): Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi held a meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Yousuf Bin Alawi bin Abdullah, on the side-lines of the United Nations General Assembly today, in New York. The Foreign Minister highlighted the great significance attached by Pakistan to its relations with Oman. He expressed satisfaction at regular interactions between the two Parliaments and other frameworks, which form the basis of a robust relationship between the two countries.

Both sides agreed to early holding of the next round of Joint Ministerial Commission. The Foreign Minister especially referred to the 272,000 strong Pakistani community, which serves as the strongest bridge between the two nations. He offered services of our skilled and semi-skilled manpower to meet Oman’s future manpower needs.

Both sides emphasized the need to enhance the existing volume of bilateral trade which is much below the actual potential of the two countries. It was agreed to increase frequent B2B interaction/ people to people contacts/ joint ventures in areas of large-scale manufacturing.

For more information, contact:
Spokesman
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Government of Pakistan
Tell: +92-51-9205494
Fax: +92-51-9204202
Cell: +92-336-5644459
Website: www.mofa.gov.pk

New York, September 27, 2018 (PPI-OT): At the UN, Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi expressed Pakistan’s firm commitment to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and said that the Government of Pakistan remained fully committed to the endemic of TB by 2030.

Speaking at the High- Level event on the Fight against Tuberculosis, Foreign Minister Qureshi appreciated the efforts and progress made by the World Health Organization. He stressed the importance of fighting the epidemic of Tuberculosis, which still accounts for over four and a half thousand deaths every day. He said that this epidemic was pervasive in lower income and middle-income countries.

“Mostly affecting adults in their most productive years, this disease not only brings personal tragedy to the families but also places a heavy burden on the world’s most poor and vulnerable”, he added. The Foreign Minister underlined that Pakistan was among the seven countries- most affected by TB. By implementing Multiple Drug Resistant TB strategy, we have yielded positive results with a success rate of 65 percent, which is higher than average global success rate.

He vowed that the government is fully committed to root out this epidemic by implementing End TB Strategy. He concluded by expressing Pakistan’s commitment to earnestly work with members of the international community to prevent unnecessary deaths, lift people out of poverty, and make progress towards other sustainable goals.

For more information, contact:
Spokesman
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Government of Pakistan
Tell: +92-51-9205494
Fax: +92-51-9204202
Cell: +92-336-5644459
Website: www.mofa.gov.pk

Islamabad, September 25, 2018 (PPI-OT): Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi held a meeting with President World Bank Jim Yong Kim on the side-lines of the 73rd UNGA session. The focus of the meeting was the World Bank’s role in implementation of the Indus Water Treaty as its Administrator. The Foreign Minister presented Pakistan’s position on the Kishan Ganga and Ratle projects in a forceful and emphatic manner.

The Foreign Minister said, Indian construction of these projects represented a violation of the Treaty, which gave Pakistan exclusive rights to western rivers. He emphasized that the procedural delay on Pakistan’s request to the World Bank to empanel the Court of Arbitration had resulted in completion of the Kishan Ganga Projects while construction work on Ratle was in progress. He said that the new government viewed this as a humanitarian issue with lives and livelihood of millions at stake. It was not interested in politicizing the issue.

The President of the World Bank said, while he understood Pakistan’s position on the Treaty, he expressed the Bank’s desire to play a constructive role in resolving this important matter at the earliest. He remarked that, with the ongoing challenge of climate change, water issues were likely to be more prominent on the international agenda.

He indicated that the World Bank was in the process of finalizing a fresh initiative and would soon be approaching Pakistan and India with details. The meeting was conducted in a cordial and frank setting. Both sides resolved to maintain regular contacts at various levels to seek an early and amicable settlement to the issue.

For more information, contact:
Spokesman
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Government of Pakistan
Tell: +92-51-9205494
Fax: +92-51-9204202
Cell: +92-336-5644459
Website: www.mofa.gov.pk