ISLAMABAD: Additional Foreign Secretary Shehryar Akbar Khan on Saturday said Pakistan was committed to deepening its ties with African nations and transforming them into meaningful partnerships.

He was speaking at the Africa Day ceremony organised by the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI).Mr Khan said in the last seven months, they had processed 10 MoUs on establishing bilateral political consultations with various African countries.

He said since the launch of the ‘Engage Africa Policy in 2019’, Pakistan had successfully executed Phase 1 of the policy, which involved the opening of five resident missions in Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Uganda, Djibouti and Rwanda and the upgrading of two missions to ambassadorial level in Tanzania and Niger. He further said options were being explored to enhance engagements with Africa by opening one embassy per year.

Sudan, Nigeria, Kenya and Somalia have successfully launched social identification systems established by Nadra, and after the resumption of direct flights from Addis Ababa to Karachi by Ethiopian Airlines, discussions are underway to extend the flight operations to Lahore and Islamabad, the additional foreign secretary said, adding that from the struggle for independence to the pursuit of development, Africa had demonstrated its commitment to progress, prosperity and peace.

Former senator Mushahid Hussain Syed said there was massive potential for growing economic and trade ties between Pakistan and African countries. He said prominent African national leaders in the post-colonial era had always acknowledged the overwhelming moral, diplomatic and material support their countries had received from Pakistan for ensuring their survival and growth soon after securing independence.

ICCI President Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari said Pakistan and Africa could unlock new opportunities for trade, investment and partnership, ultimately contributing to the socio-economic development and prosperity of both regions.

He said the ICCI was all set to develop a ‘Sister Cities Economic’ nexus with the chambers of cities that have established sister city agreements with Islamabad.

The federal capital has signed sister city agreements with 20 cities worldwide, including three in Africa - Rabat (Morocco), Khartoum (Sudan), and Tunis (Tunisia).

“We are also planning to invite all presidents of sister city chambers of commerce and industry in August to develop cooperation mechanisms,” Mr Bakhtwari added.

Ambassador of Morocco and Dean of African Corps Mohammad Karmoune; Ambassador of Algeria Brahim Romani, Ambassador of Mauritius Rashid Ally Soobadar and Somalian envoy Shirwa Abdullahi Ibrahim spoke about developing a close relationship with Pakistan.

Chairman Pakistan Africa Friendship Association (PAFA) and Secretary General United Business Group Zafar Bakhtawari underlined the need for air connectivity with African countries, especially Egypt and Morocco, for the promotion of tourism.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2024