Bilateral relations: ‘Ambitious to strengthen ties with South Africa’

High Commissioner-designate looks to promote trade with country.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s High Commissioner-designate to South Africa Najmus Saqib said that promoting trade and economic ties with South Africa was his prime objective. During a meeting, he said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s vision of a prosperous Pakistan was the baseline for his interaction with the leadership of South Africa.

“I have been tasked by President Mamnoon Hussain to not only safeguard the interests of Pakistani community but also to boost the bilateral ties between the two countries,” said Saqib who joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1985 as a career diplomat.



“Winning friends in all spheres of life for Pakistan abroad is the primary duty of a diplomat,” he said, adding that strengthened bilateral trade ties with South Africa would serve as a concrete step towards the economy of Pakistan.

“Academies, businessmen, poets, writers, artists and journalists from Pakistan will be received in Pretoria for vast interactions between the two countries in the related fields,” said Saqib who has performed duties in various countries including Bangladesh, Spain, Azerbaijan, Kenya and Canada.

Senator Haji Muhammad Adeel, Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam attended the meeting.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2014.

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