German FM begins Afghan endgame talk
Guido Westerwelle is the first top-level Western diplomat to call on the premier.
Guido Westerwelle is the first top-level Western diplomat to call on the premier. PHOTO: AFP
ISLAMABAD:
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle is due to arrive in Islamabad today (Saturday) to hold talks with Pakistan’s new political leadership on the Afghan endgame.
Westerwelle is the first top diplomat from any Western country to travel to Islamabad following the historic democratic transition from one civilian government to another in the country.
A Foreign Office official told The Express Tribune that the German foreign minister will meet Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and discuss the regional security situation with a focus on Afghanistan.
He will hold formal talks with the prime minister’s special adviser on foreign affairs, Tariq Fatemi, at the Foreign Office.
The German foreign minister’s visit is considered crucial as his country has been involved in brokering an Afghan peace deal.
With the new government is in place in Islamabad, the West is quite keen to know if the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz administration brings any policy shift.
Prime Minister Sharif on Friday outlined his government’s foreign policy priorities seeking a regional solution to the Afghan conflict. But on the face of it there seems no tangible shift in the country’s approach.
The newly-elected prime minister reiterated that Pakistan would support an ‘Afghan-led and Afghan-owned’ peace process.
Foreign Office officials said Pakistan and Germany had convergences on the way forward for Afghanistan. They said both countries were of the view that a broad-based and genuine reconciliation process in Afghanistan could end the decade-long conflict.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 8th, 2013.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle is due to arrive in Islamabad today (Saturday) to hold talks with Pakistan’s new political leadership on the Afghan endgame.
Westerwelle is the first top diplomat from any Western country to travel to Islamabad following the historic democratic transition from one civilian government to another in the country.
A Foreign Office official told The Express Tribune that the German foreign minister will meet Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and discuss the regional security situation with a focus on Afghanistan.
He will hold formal talks with the prime minister’s special adviser on foreign affairs, Tariq Fatemi, at the Foreign Office.
The German foreign minister’s visit is considered crucial as his country has been involved in brokering an Afghan peace deal.
With the new government is in place in Islamabad, the West is quite keen to know if the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz administration brings any policy shift.
Prime Minister Sharif on Friday outlined his government’s foreign policy priorities seeking a regional solution to the Afghan conflict. But on the face of it there seems no tangible shift in the country’s approach.
The newly-elected prime minister reiterated that Pakistan would support an ‘Afghan-led and Afghan-owned’ peace process.
Foreign Office officials said Pakistan and Germany had convergences on the way forward for Afghanistan. They said both countries were of the view that a broad-based and genuine reconciliation process in Afghanistan could end the decade-long conflict.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 8th, 2013.