National Assembly was on Wednesday apprised that Pakistan is in close contact with South Asian countries in connection with hosting the 19th SAARC summit as soon as possible.
This was stated by Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif in a written statement to the National Assembly.
The Foreign Minister said the postponement of 19th SAARC summit, which was scheduled to take place in Islamabad in November 2015, was not only disappointing for Pakistan but also dealt a blow to the collective development of the region.
He said Pakistan remains steadfast in its commitment to regional cooperation and connectivity for promoting peace and accelerating the pace of economic development in the region.
Khawaja Asif said Pakistan has been following a policy of maintaining cordial relations with the member countries of SAARC.
Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch told the house that the international community needs to create a conducive environment in Afghanistan for repatriation of Afghan refugees to their homeland.
He said the process of repatriation of Afghan refugees has decelerated and only seventy thousand refugees have returned to Afghanistan this year.
Minister for Commerce and Textiles Pervez Malik told the house that the government has given a package of one hundred eighty billion rupees to the business community for enhancing the country’s exports.
He said the government is undertaking consistent efforts for getting additional market access for Pakistani products.
For this purpose, free trade agreement negotiations with Turkey and Thailand are at an advanced stage while negotiations with Iran on FTA are also being initiated.