Pakistan, Italy agree to bolster ties in several sectors including trade, defence

The two sides hold fourth round of Annual Bilateral Political Consultations in Islamabad

Pakistan and Italy on Thursday agreed to bolster bilateral relations in several sectors, as the two sides held fourth round of political consultations in Islamabad.

"Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua led the Pakistan delegation, while the Italian side was headed by Secretary General of Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Elisabetta Balloni," the Foreign Office said in statement.

"The two sides discussed the entire range of bilateral relations, including regional and global issues of mutual interest," it added.

"They expressed satisfaction at the current state of relations and agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in all spheres, including political, trade and investment, defence, education, archaeology, tourism, culture and people-to-people contacts."



"The two sides welcomed the signing of the inter-governmental agreement on cooperation in the field of LNG and an MoU on cooperation between the trade development authorities of the two countries in the field of marble mining, leather and denim clothing."

The Italian Secretary General agreed on the importance of strengthening cooperation in trade and investment, including through the private sector joint ventures. The role of the strong Pakistani community was appreciated. Issues related to illegal migrants and developing frameworks of legal migration were discussed on the occasion.

The Italian delegation was briefed about the government's priorities and people centric reform agenda, which focuses on strengthening of democratic norms, good governance, justice and accountability and improving health, education and environmental sectors.

The Italian side, the Foreign Office added, was also briefed on the situation of peace and security in the region, including Pakistan-India relations and continuing grave violation of human rights in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.



The two sides also agreed to further build on the already existing strong cooperation at the multilateral fora, in particular, at the United Nations. They also decided to work on a comprehensive road-map for future cooperation.

Pakistan and Italy have the institutional mechanism of annual Bilateral Political Consultations under the framework of Pakistan-Italy Strategic Engagement Plan of 2013.

The mechanism of regular bilateral political consultations provides an opportunity to review the entire spectrum of bilateral ties and exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.

The next round of Annual Bilateral Political Consultations will be held in Rome in 2019 at mutually convenient dates.