Pak-Africa ties: Steps for promoting bilateral trade urged
Pakistan can join China as a trade partner in Africa, says former envoy.
Former ambassador proposed that Pakistan could join China as a trade partner in Africa.PHOTO: FILE
Diplomats and academics have stressed the need for concrete measures to promote bilateral trade between Pakistan and African countries.
They were speaking at a seminar on “Pakistan-Africa relations: Potential and challenges,” organised by the Institute of Strategic Studies (ISSI), an Islamabad-based think tank, to celebrate Africa Day here on Friday.
Algerian ambassador and Dean of the Africa Group Dr Ahmed Beneflis gave a brief historical background of the over a century struggle against the colonial rule.
He said that Africa has been pursuing its geo-political and economic integration of the continent from the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963 at Addis Ababa which was later renamed as African Union (AU) in 1999.
He said that the union’s mission was to build an Africa that was integrated, prosperous and at peace and to establish a dynamic force on the world stage. But at the same time, he said, it was aware of the challenges it faced and the urgent need to give new momentum to its mission through Pan-Africanism.
He also said that various organs of the union were actively working with the cooperation of the UN agencies.
Beneflis said that Pakistan has the status of an observer in the union and it actively participates in the UN peacekeeping forces to maintain peace in Africa, particularly in Central Africa and in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Former Secretary-General Foreign Office Akram Zaki said that Africa was the second largest continent in the world with 54 sovereign states and a collective GDP of $2.3 trillion. Africa has five or six distinct regions and each one has its own regional organization.
He also shed light on peace and security issues in Africa saying that outside powers have always remained involved in Africa.
The former ambassador to China said that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia retreated from Africa but now it was again becoming active there because of its rich natural resources.
Similarly, China and India were also expanding their presence in Africa for economic reasons, he said.
He proposed that Pakistan could join China as a trade partner in Africa.
Dr Rukhsana Siddiqui, former chairperson of the Quaid-i-Azam University’s Department of International Relations said that Pakistan was the first country to support Eritrea’s independence and also extended support to Kenya, Zimbabwe and many other African countries in their liberation struggles.
During these struggles, North African leaders actually travelled on Pakistani diplomatic passports, she revealed adding that the presence of a large Pakistani Diaspora in east and southern Africa has been a source of trade and exchanges in education, medicine, information technology and defence.
“Over the last 20 years, 27 African countries have sent at least 2,000 students to study in Pakistan. Pakistan has also been a very strong anti-apartheid state,” she said adding that the role played by Pakistani soldiers in a number of African countries through the UN peace keeping missions was indeed commendable.
She said that since Pakistan and Nigeria were going through similar situations, they need to work more closely to overcome the internal security threats.
Pakistan should also learn from the experience of Tanzania to improve its literacy rate.
Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry said that Pakistan attached great importance to its relations with the African countries and was serious in engaging substantial economic relations with them. He said that though Pakistan and African countries were cooperating at many international forums, especially at the UN Security Council, the volume of interaction between them was not as great as it should be.
He stressed the need for taking tangible measures for promoting trade relations between Pakistan and African countries.
Earlier the institute’s director-general, Dr Rasul Bakhsh Rais, in his opening remarks said that the African continent was very important as it is so diverse, dynamic and rich in its tradition and culture.
He said that Pakistan was playing a key role in maintaining peace and security in African countries through the UN peacekeeping missions.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 24th, 2014.