Pakistan and Australia: Partners in development

Acting President Nayyar Hussain Bokhari has said that Pakistan attaches great significance and priority to Pakistan’s cordial ties with Australia as it is an important country and development partner for Pakistan.
He was expressing these views at a meeting with HE Mr Peter Heyward, High Commissioner of Australia, on Thursday. The acting president appreciated Australia’s generous assistance during flood and earthquake in the past years. Bokhari further said that regular bilateral interactions at the highest level as well as parliamentary exchanges and people-to-people contacts between the two countries are essential for imparting a new impetus to add greater substance to the relations in diverse fields.
The acting president said: “We are looking forward to the upcoming visit (30th August onwards) of Australian parliamentary delegation and hopefully it will give a boost to the inter-parliamentary relations through generating better understanding via exchange of ideas.”
The acting president said there is great potential of cooperation between the two countries in various fields. Bokhari stressed the need for enhancing cooperation for increasing trade volume between the two countries.
He told the high commissioner that Pakistan wants trade concessions to grow its trade and economy with the EU and Australia as well. Pakistan can export textile goods, mangoes, citrus fruits, rice and other agricultural produce to Australia, he added.
The acting president invited investment of Australian companies in different sectors like energy, agriculture mechanisation and technological assistance. Talking about the energy needs of the country, the acting president said that huge scope exists in hydel, wind and solar power generation projects in Pakistan. He lauded Australia’s enhanced cooperation and assistance in the fields of education, agriculture and vocational training and this should go on.
Referring to the commonalities between the two countries, the acting president said: “We inherited common heritage and system after independence from the British rule; both countries are members of the Commonwealth; English language is spoken for communication between the people of both the countries; sports like cricket and hockey are another important link as they are liked and played in both the countries.”
The Australian high commissioner thanked the acting president for inviting the upcoming Australian parliamentary delegation to Pakistan. “It will provide indeed an opportunity for exchanging views on issues of mutual interest and learning from each other’s experiences. The enhanced parliamentary linkages guarantee enhanced cooperation,” he added. The high commissioner also extended invitation for Pakistan’s parliamentary delegation to visit Australia.
Talking about the rising trade volume between the two countries, he told the acting president that bilateral trade commission between the two countries held important discussions in Canberra recently to explore new avenues of cooperation in this regard.
He apprised the acting president that Australia was gradually reducing tariffs on Pakistani goods to help Pakistani products to have greater access to Australian market.
He said that Australia was interested in importing textile goods and mangoes from Pakistan which will also act as cultural symbol of the country.