LONDON: British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday appreciated Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s efforts in reaching out to Afghanistan, especially during his recent visit to Kabul.
The two leaders met on the sidelines of Commonwealth leaders retreat at Windsor Castle where PM Abbasi spoke of his visit to Kabul and underscored Pakistan’s commitment to peace and stability in Afghanistan.
The British PM appreciated Pakistan’s efforts in fighting terrorism and in that context recalled PM Abbasi’s reference to more than 100,000 Pakistanis affected in the fight against terrorism over the past 10 years.
They discussed matters of bilateral interest and PM Abbasi congratulated his British counterpart on the efficient steering of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.
PM Abbasi highlighted the plight of the Kashmiri people and urged the international community to respond to the current human rights situation in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK).
He informed the British PM of Pakistan’s efforts in fighting terrorism and extremism.
He also underscored the importance of strengthening bilateral relations, especially in the context of trade and investment and thanked United Kingdom (UK) for the work done by its development agency in Pakistan.
PM Abbasi also appreciated the appointment of a trade envoy by the UK government to help explore trade and investment opportunities between the two countries, especially in the post-Brexit context.
She said that Pakistan-UK relations were strong and underscored the importance of further enhancing trade between the two countries.
In response to the British PM’s reference to the recent alleged use of chemical weapons, PM Abbasi recalled Pakistan’s principled position of condemning any use of chemical weapons.
Meanwhile, Pakistan received the Commonwealth Government Award for Women’s Economic Empowerment.
The award was jointly given by the Commonwealth Businesswomen’s Network and Global Citizen to the government in recognition of the work and impact in the area of women empowerment.