Islamabad to set up diplomatic missions in six African countries

Pakistan steps up efforts to boost Africa trade ties

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has decided to set up diplomatic missions in six African countries on an urgent basis in a bid to improve trade ties with them.

These countries include Djibouti, Angola, Rwanda, Uganda, Ghana and Ivory Coast.

Besides, Pakistan will also open commercial sections in Algeria, Ethiopia, Senegal Nigeria and Kenya.

Press attaches will be posted in seven African countries. Next year, Pakistan will organise an international investment and trade conference in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.

An Africa task force has been formed at the Foreign Office to implement the decisions made at the recently concluded   ‘Engage Africa Conference’ in Islamabad.

Africa is the second largest continent in the world, spreading over 20% of the world landmass and a collective GDP of over $2.3 trillion. It offers an import market of around $500 billion. Pakistan currently has 15 resident missions in the African countries.

During the conference, diplomats discussed ways to enhance Pakistan’s diplomatic, economic and cultural ties with the continent. The event offered an opportunity to information technology firms to display their products, which could be exported to African nations.

Several think-tanks presented their viewpoints on increasing access to African markets. At the conclusion of the conference, proposals from experts were presented to Prime Minister Imran Khan.

PM Khan said Pakistan’s foreign policy would focus on promoting relations with countries in Africa.

He regretted that ties with African countries were not given priority in Pakistan’s external relations in the past because there was lack of innovation and creativity in running the foreign policy.

Speaking at the conference, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the idea of convening the conference was to deepen links with Africa and add an economic thrust to the diplomatic relations. He added that Pakistan remained an ardent supporter of their struggle against colonialism.

Terming Africa a continent of the future, the minister said the current “age of geo-strategic connectivity” demanded of Pakistan to be part of it and address the growing traditional and non-traditional threats in domain of economy and security.

“As part of the UN peacekeeping operations, Pakistan has made significant contribution to peace, security and development of Africa. Pakistan has assisted in Africa’s capacity-building in education with over 700 diplomats from 52 countries getting training at the Foreign Service Academy,” he added.

The minister called for increasing the frequency of business interactions, high-level contacts and close people-to-people relations. “The government wants to create an effective partnership with African countries in the areas of economy and food security,” he said.

“Pakistan is committed to a substantial policy on maintaining a meaningful relationship with Africa. Only through constructive engagement, we can achieve the goal of economic integration for win-win solutions.”