Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi with Kuwait's Interior Minister Khaled Al Jarrah Al Sabah. PHOTO: RADIO PAKISTAN
Pakistan is ready to facilitate de-escalation of tension in the region and support peace and stability, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Sunday.
He made the remarks during an interview with the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).
"We are concerned about rising tension between the United States and Iran,” he said and added, “Pakistan would always be supportive of peace and stability, we would be more than happy to facilitate in de-escalation."
On the relations between Kuwait and Pakistan, the minister said relations between the two countries have been historically cordial.
Imran-Trump meeting hinges on breakthrough in Doha peace talks: Qureshi
"Politically, we have had excellent relations, we have been supporting each other at the regional level. On many global issues, our policies are common, and our approach on many regional issues, including on the issue of Palestine, they are close to each other," he said.
The visit was aimed at building comprehensive economic relations, he added. "I feel that we can facilitate more, by sending skilled and semi-skilled manpower to Kuwait, we can achieve further economic development."
As for the role of Kuwait in the United Nations Security Council, Qureshi said, “Kuwait plays a very balancing and mature role, especially during the recent standoff between India and Pakistan.”
"They helped de-escalate and defuse tensions," he added.
Meanwhile, the foreign minister also met his Kuwaiti counterpart Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah.
Qureshi said Pakistan gives much importance to its bilateral and economic relations with Kuwait, according to a Foreign Office statement.
FM Qureshi in Kuwait on two-day visit
He said Kuwait had supported Pakistan in every critical situation. He said Pakistan and its people had great respect for the people and government of Kuwait.
Speaking on the occasion, the Kuwaiti foreign minister said that services of Pakistan's diaspora in Kuwait were appreciable as they were brave and hard working.
Qureshi said that Pakistan wanted to further boost the existing economic relations with Kuwait. The foreign minister said that more than 0.1 million overseas Pakistanis were playing a dynamic role in development of Kuwait.
The Pakistani diaspora in Gulf Countries wanted to get access to Kuwait's markets, he added.
He; however, said that visa restriction was hurdle in getting access to the markets and added that Pakistan had taken effective measures to curb the use of illegal documents for traveling purposes.
In this regard, the Kuwait government is urged to review its visa restriction policy.
The Kuwaiti foreign minister assured Qureshi that the visa policy would be reviewed and all possible cooperation would be extended to Pakistan in this regard.
Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah said, "Pakistan is our brotherly Muslim country and the role of Pakistani community in development of Kuwait is appreciable."
The foreign minister thanked the Kuwaiti counterpart on supporting Pakistan's stance during the recent Pak-India crisis.
He also thanked him on supporting Pakistan on the issue of human rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK).
#FM @SMQureshiPTI, his Kuwaiti counterpart discuss bilateral relations https://t.co/4Aelrl4voE pic.twitter.com/eXl7sUS9Cp
— Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) May 19, 2019
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ