Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz at the opening of an envoys’ conference on Monday urged Pakistani ambassadors to proactively protect Pakistani interests and project the country’s stance on vital issues.
Confronted with an aggravating foreign policy crisis, the government has convened the three-day conference to chart a way out.
This is the third such conference during the current government’s tenure and will focus on “critical issues in foreign policy”.
Nine Pakistani ambassadors accredited to various capitals and multilateral institutions are in attendance at the moot, Foreign Office Spokesman Nafees Zakaria said. Surprisingly, envoys to the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia are not present.
Issues that will be taken up during the event include relations with the US, India (especially in the context of Kashmir uprising), Afghanistan, China, Russia and the European Union; the upcoming SAARC summit; membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and disarmament affairs; terrorism, and UN-related matters.
Deliberations will also be important from the perspective of the upcoming presidential elections in the US and major international realignments currently under way.
