Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday urged Pakistan’s envoys to make concerted efforts to implement the government’s shift from geo-political contestation to geo-economic cooperation.

The foreign minister said this while chairing an interactive session on economic diplomacy, which was attended by Pakistan’s envoys to the United States, Turkey, Austria, Iran, Russia, Netherlands, and permanent representatives to New York and Geneva. The meeting was held as part of government’s efforts to promote economic diplomacy.

Underscoring the growing significance of geo-economics in international politics, Qureshi said that economic security was a crucial function of national security.

Apprising the attendees about the government’s robust reform measures for improvement of business climate in the country, he said that Pakistan’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ rankings had significantly improved.

“Pakistan had secured 6th place among the world’s top 10 business climate improvers and its Business Confidence Ranking increased by 39 points as per OICCI’s latest survey,” he added.

The foreign minister also commended the pivotal role played by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its missions abroad in safeguarding Pakistan’s economic interests, especially in the successful implementation of the government’s various initiatives/programmes such as Roshan Digital Account Initiative.

During the session, the participants identified the bottlenecks impeding bilateral economic cooperation with the envoys giving their recommendations in this regard.

They provided valuable input and insight on how to enhance economic cooperation at bilateral and regional levels.

In line with the prime minister’s vision, Foreign Minister Qureshi had consistently stressed on promotion of economic diplomacy and increased economic cooperation with partner countries.

Regular virtual meetings and interactions on economic diplomacy with the Pakistani envoys in key capitals are part of these efforts.