Qureshi calls for shift towards digitisation in post-covid world

Urges strategies in line with global changes due to coronavirus

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi underlined on Wednesday the need to formulate strategy in view of the current situation to better achieve foreign policy goals.

Addressing senior officers at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad, he said that the coronavirus pandemic has changed the world, and going forward the FO will have to prepare itself to respond to the changing environment.

Even as important meetings and conferences are being held through video link globally, we need to shift towards digitisation to effectively present our point of view, said the foreign minister.

He stressed on the need for joint efforts to further enhance the capacity of Pakistan’s ambassadors, who, he added, are recognised globally for their diplomacy.

Qureshi added that Pakistani ambassadors were facilitating the Pakistani community across the globe as the world responds to the pandemic. According to the minister, efforts of Pakistani envoys have been lauded on social media and that appreciation has boosted the morale of his office.

Since the pandemic hit, Pakistani missions have been active in facilitating the needs of overseas Pakistanis. “The pandemic has added another layer of activity to what the embassy normally does, since a number of Pakistanis in Turkey required help and guidance, particularly with regard to repatriation to Pakistan,” said Ambassador Syrus Sajjad Qazi - Pakistan envoy to Turkey - in a recent interview.

Diplomacy has also continued on other fronts with the country strengthening its ties with the United States, China, Turkey amid others, while grappling with the pandemic.