- British high commissioner says UK attaches special importance to relations with Pakistan
British High Commissioner Thomas Drew met Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Friday and exchanged views on matters of mutual interest, relations between Pakistan and Britain and promotion of cooperation in different sectors.
The foreign dignitary congratulated the chief minister on recovery of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after his successful open-heart surgery. He also congratulated Shehbaz Sharif for allocating huge resources for education, health, water supply and social sectors in the budget for the new financial year.
CM Sharif told the high commissioner that Pakistan and Britain were strong partners in the efforts for peace, progress and prosperity and the relations between the two countries were strengthening with the passage of time. He said that bilateral ties between Pakistan and Britain had been given a new dimension in the tenure of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Britain was fully cooperating with Pakistan in the various sectors.
The chief minister said that Punjab government’s skill development programme was being successfully implemented with the cooperation of the British Department for International Development (DFID) while school reforms roadmap was also yielding encouraging results. Likewise, he added, a big programme was being implemented in the province with the cooperation of Britain for providing quality healthcare facilities to the masses.
Sharif said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government, led by PM Nawaz Sharif, was introducing far-reaching reforms in the economic sector and confidence of foreign investors had been restored due to solid steps taken by the government.
The chief minister further stressed the need for promoting trade and economic ties between Pakistan and Britain, saying that there should be exchange of trade delegations between the two countries.
Sharif said that Pakistan rendered unprecedented sacrifices in the war on terror and as a result of the Operation Zarb-e-Azab peace had been restored in the country. He said the whole nation was united to make Pakistan a haven of peace.
British High Commissioner Thomas Drew said that Britain attached special importance to its relations with Pakistan. He said the Punjab government under the leadership of Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif had ensured proper and transparent utilisation of British taxpayers’ money.
He said the chief minister was implementing a splendid programme of public welfare and had taken positive steps for this purpose. He further said the programmes aimed at improvement of education, health, skill development and other social sectors were being effectively implemented and steps would be taken for increasing interaction with the Punjab government in the future as well.