ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has said that Afghanistan is our neighboring country and a peaceful Afghanistan is in the favour of Pakistan and the entire region.
He was talking to Special Representative of Germany for Pakistan and Afghanistan Markus Potzel who called on him at the Parliament House here Tuesday. German Ambassador Martin Kobler was also present on the occasion.
He said Pakistan and Germany enjoys cordial and cooperative relations which needs to be further strengthened through substantive and long term parliamentary and economic cooperation. He also emphasized the need for a regular interaction between political leadership, parliamentarians and people of both the countries that would take the existing relations to new heights.
Exchanging views on global and regional issues, he remarked that Pakistan has a keen interest in promoting regional stability and is making consistent efforts for regional peace and economic stability. The speaker asserted that Germany remains one of the vocal and staunch supporters of Pakistan and political engagement on both sides of the country will bring the nations closer and pave ways for inter-parliamentary diplomacy and cooperation.
While discussing the stability in Afghanistan, the speaker said Pakistan wanted to strengthen relations with Afghanistan and work together for peace and prosperity in the region. “Pakistan and Afghanistan are victims of terrorism and both suffered a lot from the menace of extremism. Joint strategy and closer cooperation to address the root causes of terrorism should be needed between two neighbours,” Ayaz Sadiq said.
He also briefed the visit of the high powered Pakistani parliamentary delegation to Afghanistan and shared the detail of the meetings with Afghan leadership. The speaker also informed the objectives of the First Speakers Conference held in December 2017 where speakers from Russia, Turkey, Iran, China and Afghanistan were attended and discussed the ways how to tackle the menace of terrorism in the region as well connect with each other for prosperity and development.
Markus Potzel acknowledged the sentiments of the Speaker and said that his government also attaches immense importance to its relations with Pakistan and wants to further cement them through cooperation in diverse fields. He agreed that frequent interaction between business communities and parliamentarians would be beneficial for both the nations.
He also highlighted that Germany as Europe’s largest economy, is keen to maintain intensive and friendly relations with Pakistan. He further said that Germany would continue to support Pakistan at the regional as well as international level in its efforts towards achieving democratic and economic development.
