ISLAMABAD: The 10th round of bilateral political consultations between Pakistan and Switzerland was held in Bern on February 26-27.
Additional Secretary (Europe) Ambassador Zaheer A Janjua led the Pakistani delegation while the Swiss side was headed by Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) Assistant State of Secretary for Asia and Pacific Division Ambassador Johannes Matyassy.
The two sides reviewed all aspects of bilateral relations, including political, economic, trade, investment and cooperation in the fields of education, science and technology, agriculture and defence. They also discussed multilateral cooperation in key areas of interest and exchanged views on important global and regional developments.
Janjua briefed the Swiss side on the progress made by the government on strengthening democracy, reviving the economy and improvement in law and order situation in the country. The successes achieved in the fight against terrorism were also highlighted.
Both sides recognised the vast potential of the two economies for mutually beneficial cooperation. They agreed to take concrete steps, including the exchange of business delegations and supporting SMEs to further enhance and expand bilateral economic and commercial interaction.
Bilateral trade between Pakistan and Switzerland crossed US $500 million in 2017. Pakistan and Switzerland enjoy close and friendly relations and cooperate closely at multilateral fora and Switzerland is an important development partner of Pakistan.
The mechanism of bilateral political consultations provides a useful platform to review bilateral relations and discusses future areas of cooperation. The next session of the Consultations will be held in Islamabad at mutually convenient dates in 2019.