Daily Times

A country’s foreign policy, also called the foreign relations or foreign affairs policy is quite important because it determines the state of the relationship between the countries. The Quaid-e-Azam had defined the foreign policy of the newborn Pakistan as one of friendliness and goodwill towards all nations of the world.

We do not cherish aggressive designs against any country or nation. It is quite appreciable as well as commendable that all the governments over the past 77 years have been pursuing foreign policy as defined by the Father of the Nation irrespective of their political affiliations.

It is good to note that frequent exchanges of top civil and military leaders, and delegations as well as visits to friendly countries and international gatherings continue taking place to further strengthen and promote bilateral relations and lately, more importantly, seek foreign investment and trade in multiple sectors instead of aid.

Needless to mention here Pakistan enjoys good friendly relations with all the regional countries except neighbouring countries India and Afghanistan due to the lingering unresolved Kashmir issue and infiltration of terrorists from Afghan soil.

All governments over the past 77 years have been pursuing foreign policy as defined by the Father of the Nation – irrespective of their political affiliations.

The recent visit by a high-level delegation and the President of Belarus was more than promotional and goodwill. First to arrive was a 68-member strong delegation headed by Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov including nine ministers and more than 40 traders and businessmen ahead of Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko came on a three-day official visit. While going through quite hectic engagements, the Belarusian President and the delegation made it amply clear that their coming here was with good and positive intentions of further promoting and strengthening bilateral relations and enhancing mutually beneficial cooperation in different sectors in the brotherly country.

The Belarus President and host PM Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting to exchange views regarding bilateral relations and further enhance the mutually beneficial cooperation in different sectors. Afterwards, they led delegation-level talks of the respective countries during which prevailing friendly relations between Pakistan and Belarus were reviewed at some level and appropriate decisions were taken to further boost these relations and cooperation.

Following these deliberations, the visiting distinguished guest and host PM addressed a joint press conference They said that Pakistan and Belarus have agreed to expedite the realisation of bilateral agreements aiming at enhancing the cooperation in key sectors such as trade, agriculture, food, defence and technology to achieve the cherished goal of monetizing their longstanding political and diplomatic relation, both sides have also agreed to solidify the understanding reached between the top leaders during their deliberations.

One of the key outcomes of their discussions was the signing of the “Roadmap for Comprehensive Cooperation between Pakistan and Belarus for 2005-2027,” which outlines a strategic framework for duly enhancing the mutual economic ties through high-level meetings between the top leadership of Pakistan and Belarus, inter-governmental commissions, and focused collaborative initiatives aimed at ensuring further enhancing the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries. Both countries would hold further meetings in Minsk, Belarus, at the appropriate level in February next year to finalize the agreements signed by both leaders, converting these into concrete actions.

The two leaders also deliberated on the burning and persistently Israel-besieged Gaza and the lingering unresolved Kashmir issue; expressing their concern over the failure of implementation of the ceasefire in Gaza despite United Nations resolutions and ruling by the International Court of Justice and non-implementation by India of the UN Security Council resolutions for granting the right of self-determination to the people of India’s illegally occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The PM thanked the Belarus President for his country’s support on the Kashmir issue and emphatically emphasized that global peace would remain elusive until such issues were resolved.

The two leaders also appreciatively witnessed the exchange of significant agreements and Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) covering a wide range of areas, including environmental protections, disaster management, halal trade, auditing institutions, financial intelligence sharing, vocational education and science and technology. Continuation of such high-level frequent exchange of visits of top leadership and delegations of the sorts would hopefully certainly and positively augur well for both Belarus and Pakistan in the coming years, to say the least, please.

The writer is a Lahore-based freelance journalist, columnist and retired Deputy Controller (News), Radio Pakistan, Islamabad and can be reached at zahidriffat@gmal.com