Pakistan wants to expand, diversify, strengthen ties with Egypt: Zardari

Both countries sign a number of MoUs to further bi-lateral ties.

ISLAMABAD: Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi arrived in Islamabad on Monday to hold talks with President Asif Ali Zardari, Express News reported.

This is the first time an Egyptian head of state is visiting Pakistan in four decades.

Mursi was welcomed by a delegate of senior officials along with ambassadors of Arab countries.

The foreign ministry said the visit is a “watershed and a landmark” in relations between the two Muslim nations which would “give a new impetus to economic, trade and cultural relations”.

“President Morsi’s decision to choose Pakistan as the first South Asian country for a bilateral visit manifests Egypt’s desire to add a new chapter to its bilateral ties with Pakistan,” it added.

Mursi was also likely receive an honorary doctorate from the National University of Science and Technology.

Bolstering bi-lateral ties

President Asif Ali Zardari Monday urged for concerted steps to bolster the existing Pakistan-Egypt relationship to new heights with a special focus on trade and investment ties.

Zardari said the government and the people of Pakistan highly valued their relations with their Egyptian brethren. They were eager to translate the full potential of this relationship for the mutual benefit of the two countries.

The President’s spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said that during the one-on-one meeting Zardari and Mursi held wide-ranging discussions on bilateral, regional and international issues and the situation in the Middle East. The bilateral talks were followed by delegation level talks at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

Zardari said that Pakistan and Egypt enjoy traditional friendly relations which is rooted in common faith and cultural affinities. He added that Pakistan desires to expand, diversify and further strengthen its relations with Egypt in all fields of bilateral relations.

Egyptian President Morsi expressed his deep desire to cultivate close relations with Pakistan and stated that both countries were two pillars of the Islamic World which have an important role to play in the Ummah as well as in the region.

MoUs

Later during the day, Pakistan and Egypt signed five MoUs in total and an Executive Programme for Scientific and Technological Cooperation.

The two countries signed the MoUs for Cooperation in the field of Money Orders and International Postal Service and Merchant Shipping.

Other MoUs signed were between Board of Investment and Pakistan and General Authority of Free Zones and Investment of Egypt, the Middle East News Agency (MENA) and the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) and between Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) and Special Fund for Development (SFD) of Egypt.

The MoUs were signed between Ambassador of Egypt to Pakistan Saeed Hindan and the heads of relevant authorities.

Both the countries also signed third Executive Programme for Scientific and Technological Cooperation for the year 2013 to 2015.

Working together on Syria

On the situation in Syria‚ Zardari said that Pakistan and Egypt should work closely together for the common good of the Ummah and for peace in our region. He urged for working together to end the bloodshed in Syria and to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.

Pakistan believes that Syria's territorial integrity and sovereignty must be respected, Zardari said.

The President said that any outside interference would only complicate a complex situation and will have serious consequences for the neighboring countries. He stated that the drive for peace in Syria must be led and owned by the Syrian People and offered Pakistan's readiness to play its role in finding a peaceful solution of the Syrian crisis.