Daily Times

Chairman Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani has said that Pakistan highly values its relations with Ethiopia and desires to further expand bilateral ties in diverse sectors. The Chairman Senate expressed these views in a meeting with Jemal Beker Abdula Ambassador of Ethiopia in Islamabad. Mr. Gilani appreciated that Pakistan and Ethiopia have a long history of working together on multilateral forums in support of international peace and stability.

He termed trade and economic relations crucial for bringing people of the two sides closer. He said that trade and business cooperation in diverse sectors can help in building lasting relations between Islamabad and Addis Ababa. He said that a Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) to bring all stakeholders on a single platform. SIFC promises a win-win paradigm for our brotherly and friendly countries through symbiotic projects.

He welcomed the direct flights between Karachi and Addis Ababa. He informed that NADRA has successfully launched projects in Nigeria, Sudan, Kenya and Somalia relating to digitalization of Passports and National Identity documents and Ethiopia can also avail the services. He further thanked the Ethiopian Government for extending online visa facility to Pakistani nationals to promote people to people exchanges.

The volume of bilateral trade, however he said, does not reflect the true potential of our two economies and both sides need to work together to make progress in economic and trade links. Pakistan is firmly committed to broaden cooperation with African countries in diverse fields especially in trade, investment, and economic spheres, he observed.

Gilani remarked that Pakistan has been exporting medical and surgical equipment, pharmaceutical products, and medicines to Ethiopia which can be further enhanced. He said that Pakistan is known for producing high-quality footballs that are frequently used in global soccer tournaments.

Pakistan offers scholarships to Ethiopian students in various disciplines. He further informed that that Ethiopian diplomats have been receiving training at Foreign Service Academy and we are ready to offer training courses to more Ethiopian diplomats. He also considered the Defense Cooperation important as both countries are faced with identical challenges of terrorism and extremism. He said that such a cooperation would further boost our defense ties. He said that terrorism is a great threat. Pakistan has been a victim of terrorism, saying that, we lost Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was also victim of terorism.

The Chairman Senate also extended invitation to his counterpart in the Ethiopian parliament to visit Pakistan as both the countries have a history of high level exchanges. Mr. Gilani said that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Shaheed was the architect of Pakistan- Ethiopian bilateral relations as he first visited Ethiopia in 1972. He said that parliamentary exchanges play a pivotal role in promoting people to people contacts. He emphasized that parliamentary friendship groups in the respective parliaments can be highly beneficial in this regard.

The Ambassador of Ethiopia thanked the chairman Senate for his remarks. He said that Pakistan is an important country and we also desire to further deepen diversify ties. He said that both countries have a shared history of cooperation at different levels. ” Our countries are cooperating at international levels and there is huge scope for firther boosting cooperation in different sectors” , the Ambassador observed.