Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has said that Pakistan welcomes upcoming Bonn Conference, as stability in Afghanistan is indispensable for Pakistan’s security and socio-economic development.
She was talking to European External Action Services (EEAS) Deputy Secretary General Helga Schmid who called on her here on Thursday. They discussed Pakistan-EU relations and important regional developments.
On Pakistan-EU relations, the foreign minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s keen desire to formally launch the bilateral strategic dialogue with a visit of Lady Catherine Aston, High Representative of European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to Pakistan early next year. She said the strategic dialogue, based on five-year EU-Pak Engagement Plan, which was being finalised, would go a long way in forging a mutually-beneficial broad-based partnership.
She said Pakistan attached great importance to its relations with EU, given the fact that the EU was not only the world’s largest trading block, but also the largest trading partner of Pakistan as well as one of the major sources of foreign investment and remittances. She appreciated EU’s Pakistan-specific trade package and its humanitarian and development assistance.
Helga Schmid assured the foreign minister that Pakistan was an important country for the EU. Every effort was being made on the part of Brussels to forge a strong comprehensive relationship with Pakistan. She also said that with the commencement of the strategic dialogue between Pakistan and EU, the two sides would embark on a sustained process of strengthening Pakistan-EU relations in diverse areas.
