ISLAMABAD, July 28: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali has called upon the foreign office and Pakistani missions abroad to pursue pro-active diplomacy. He was inaugurating the four-day envoys’ conference here on Monday.
The prime minister stressed that political stability and effective diplomacy went hand in hand. He said the newly-elected government had ensured continuity of Pakistan’s foreign and economic policies that had enhanced country’s influence and prestige, and stimulated its economic growth.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri identified the challenges and the opportunities for Pakistan’s foreign policy, and asked the envoys to evolve strategies to respond to the global and regional developments.
In his keynote address, Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar gave an overview of Pakistan’s foreign policy. Outlining the broad economic and political trends, he urged the envoys to craft a forward-looking vision of Pakistan’s foreign policy so that the country could respond effectively to the changing developments.
The conference organised by the foreign affairs ministry at the foreign office brings together Pakistan’s ambassadors from key world capitals to review a whole gamut of foreign policy issues.
“It is essentially an internal, in-depth review of our foreign policy to set policy directions to effectively respond to the challenges we face in the international arena,” is how a senior foreign affairs ministry official described it.
The conference assumes special significance in the backdrop of the new regional and global developments. The key question before the envoys is to reinforce Pakistan’s traditional diplomacy with active economic diplomacy, foreign office spokesman Masud Khan said.
Participants of the conference include 20 Pakistani ambassadors, foreign office professionals, cabinet members and representatives of the armed forces.
The inaugural session was attended by several cabinet members, including Mr Shaukat Aziz, Mr Sharifuddin Pirzada, Sheikh Rashid, Dr Attaur Rehman and Brig Mansoor Hamid (retired).
Pakistan’s ambassadors in Washington, New York (UN), London, Geneva, Paris, Berlin, Brussels, Moscow, Kabul, Tehran, Riyadh, Tokyo, Beijing, New Delhi, Dhaka, Kathmandu and Colombo are all here to participate in the conference.
According to officials, the issues that will be part of the discourse are: thaw in India-Pakistan relations, Pakistan-United States relationship, breakthrough in Pakistan-Russia ties, the US occupation of Iraq, the growing Indo-US military ties, the volatile situation in Afghanistan, the fragile Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, Pakistan’s strategic relations with China, the role of the Organization of Islamic Conference, the Middle East conflict and the recognition of Israel.
Other important foreign policy aspects that will be discussed include promotion of trade and economic relations and welfare of overseas Pakistanis.
Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff, Chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau, Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan and Chairman of the Higher Education are all slated to address the conference, which will conclude on July 31. The last regular envoys’ conference was held here in July 2000.