ISLAMABAD, May 6: Pakistani and Swiss foreign ministers on Saturday said that they had agreed that their countries seek greater economic and development cooperation between them.

Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri and his counterpart Micheline Calmy-Rey of Switzerland, who is also a vice-president of the Swiss confederation, told a joint news conference after talks that they also discussed other matters of mutual concern including the India-Pakistan peace process, Iranian nuclear issue, India-US deal on civilian nuclear cooperation, Afghanistan and the issue of blasphemous cartoons published in Europe.

“We had a fruitful exchange of ideas on enhancing our economic and development cooperation,” Mr Kasuri said about his meeting with Ms Calmy-Rey, and added that the visit of the Swiss leader marked the 40th year of, what he called, a constructive partnership of scientific and technological cooperation between the two countries.

“We agreed to further strengthen the ongoing development cooperation as well as educational and technological exchanges,” he said.

Mr Kasuri said the two sides agreed on the need for tapping a “vast potential for enhancing bilateral economic relations”. He emphasised “the desirability of institutionalisation of economic relations” and proposed the re-activation of a memorandum of understanding signed by Pakistan’s Board of Investment and the Swiss Organisation for Facilitating Investment.