Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan accords immense importance to its relations with the European Union (EU) espousing values of democracy, plurality and rule of law, said State Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb during a meeting with EU Ambassador to Pakistan Jean-Francois Cautain, who called on her here on Friday.

Matters pertaining to mutual cooperation in the fields of media, information and culture were discussed at the meeting. The EU ambassador assured the minister to extend all possible help to Pakistan in this regard. He also invited the minister to join the celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome.

Acknowledging the role of the media in shaping minds of the public, Marriyum said that the Ministry of Information was working on an elaborate plan to impart professional training to media persons with a view to harness their skills and expertise. The minister said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif firmly believed in freedom of expression as it was “sine quo non” for democracy and a free society.

She told the EU ambassador that the Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage had taken a myriad of initiatives to ensure welfare of media persons as well as preservation of national heritage with the sole objective to promote positive image of Pakistan and mitigate misperceptions about its people and the land.

Marriyum said that the Information Ministry was working on formulating a comprehensive film production and broadcasting policy to translate the vision of the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to revive indigenous entertainment industry, national heritage, culture and tourism. She said that quality production would create awareness among the masses on developments in socio-economic domain and issues of national importance.