ISLAMABAD: The 8th Round of Pakistan-Czech Republic bilateral political consultations was held here on Tuesday. The Pakistani side was led Mr Zaheer Janjua and Europe’s additional secretary, while the Czech delegation was headed by Minister for Foreign Affairs Junior Deputy Minister H.E. Ivan Jančárek.
The two sides reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and identified opportunities and possibilities for further cooperation especially in the spheres of trade, investment, defence, education, culture, parliamentary exchanges and people-to-people contacts. Europe’s additional secretary briefed the Czech delegation on Pakistan’s emerging economy, future prospects of growth, and invited Czech companies to invest in energy, SME, information and communication technology, water management and agriculture sectors.
The two sides discussed mutual collaboration at international fora including the United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU) besides, exchanging views on global and regional issues of mutual interest.
They found a convergence of views on important issues and agreed to continue cooperation at multilateral fora. Though they expressed satisfaction at the overall progress of bilateral relations and committed to enhancing cooperation in all fields, they particularly decided to boost trade and economic relations.
The Czech side also acknowledged Pakistan’s contribution and sacrifices in the fight against terror.
They were apprised of South Asia’s current situation with a focus on Afghanistan, Pakistan-India relations and also the human rights violations in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Initiated in 2005, bilateral political consultations are a useful framework to review progress in various spheres and identify avenues of future cooperation between the two countries.
The 7th round of the consultations was held in Prague in May 2016 and the next round will be held in Prague again, in 2019, on mutually agreed dates.