Economy assumes centre stage in modern diplomacy: FM

Qureshi urges envoys to make concerted efforts to implement the government’s economic agenda

ISLAMABAD:

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has stressed the need for the growing significance of geo-economics in international politics, saying that economic diplomacy had assumed centre stage in modern diplomatic practice.

“I hope that peace in Afghanistan can contribute towards the further deepening of Pakistan’s economic ties with Central Asia,” he said while presiding over a virtual meeting on economic diplomacy on Monday. Pakistan’s ambassadors in Central and South Asian countries – including Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives and Nepal – were in attendance.

Highlighting the government’s paradigm shift from geopolitics to geo-economic cooperation, he urged the envoys to make concerted efforts to implement the government’s economic agenda.

The foreign minister briefed the envoys about his interaction with foreign dignitaries during his recent visits to Central Asian countries.

With regard to extending maximum facilitation to the Pakistani diaspora, he informed the envoys about the launching of the FM Portal.

Qureshi asked the envoys to cultivate mutually beneficial trade and economic partnerships with Central and South Asian countries, with an “enhanced focus on trade promotion, investments, employment creation, tourism, technology transfer, energy cooperation and regional connectivity.”

He highlighted the geo-strategic significance of Pakistan, as it offered a “massive opportunity” to serve as a regional transit hub.

The FM also asked the envoys to showcase the investment potential of the country and instructed them to work on removing bottlenecks that hinder the expansion of economic collaboration with host countries and identifying new sectors for the promotion of economic cooperation.

The ambassadors told the FM about their respective missions’ activities in the economic and commercial domains. They also shared their action plans to deepen Pakistan’s economic footprint in their countries of accreditation.