LONDON, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar has said Pakistan and the United Kingdom have agreed to jointly advance a broader partnership in trade, investment, financial-sector technology, artificial intelligence and information technology.
Speaking to the media in London on Friday following a series of high-level meetings during his visit, Dar described his discussions with British officials as the beginning of a new phase of strategic cooperation between Pakistan and the UK.
He said Pakistan remained committed to further strengthening bilateral relations and claimed that the country’s economy had now achieved stability, with the government having put the economy on the right track since assuming office.
Dar said he held a productive meeting with the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, during which Pakistan-Commonwealth relations and preparations for this year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) were discussed.
According to the deputy prime minister, the Commonwealth Secretary-General has invited Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif to attend the summit. He said a final decision regarding the prime minister’s participation was yet to be made, but Pakistan would “certainly participate” in the Commonwealth summit. Dar also recalled that he had represented Pakistan at the forum in the past.
He said the discussions also covered reform initiatives and programmes aimed at improving the welfare of young people. The Commonwealth Secretary-General expressed satisfaction with Pakistan’s efforts as co-chair in youth-related matters, he added.
Dar said Pakistan had also offered to share its expertise and experience with the Commonwealth in disaster management. He pointed out that Pakistan contributes less than one per cent to global greenhouse-gas emissions but remains among the ten countries most affected by climate-related disasters.
The deputy prime minister also held a comprehensive meeting with the British Foreign Secretary, saying that he had previously met him a few weeks earlier on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum shortly after the foreign secretary assumed his position.
He said cooperation in counterterrorism and counter-narcotics was also discussed, while particular attention during the latest talks was given to the Pakistani diaspora living in the UK. Dar described the Pakistani community in Britain as a valuable asset for strengthening relations between the two countries.
According to Dar, Pakistan and Britain agreed to expand cooperation in the economy, investment, financial-sector technology, artificial intelligence and IT. He said both foreign ministers had expressed their commitment to jointly take the partnership forward in the future.
Dar noted that approximately 94 per cent of Pakistani products entering the British market currently benefit from preferential trade arrangements, which Pakistan continues to utilise. He said Britain had also supported the need to further strengthen the bilateral trade relationship.
The deputy prime minister said that following the formation of the new government in Pakistan, he had been tasked with further advancing Pakistan-UK bilateral relations. He also held detailed discussions with British Minister Stephen Doughty, with whom he said he had worked in different capacities in the past, and stressed the need to broaden the scope of cooperation with Britain.
Dar also met the UK National Security Adviser, with Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the UK also attending the meeting. He explained that meetings at the national security level are normally held away from cameras under standard security protocols, which was why the Foreign Office issued only a written post about the meeting without photographs.
He said the meeting covered a broad range of issues, particularly matters relating to peace and security, and described the discussions as positive.
Dar said he had observed during his meetings in London that his British counterparts and officials appreciated Pakistan’s role in efforts to mediate between the United States and Iran. British officials, he said, also appreciated the leadership and role of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in the diplomatic initiative.
He added that the UK National Security Adviser had specifically appreciated Pakistan’s efforts regarding US-Iran mediation, while British officials also praised Pakistan’s wider diplomatic role. Dar said Britain had acknowledged the roles played by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir in the mediation efforts.
On Pakistan’s broader diplomatic position, Dar said the country was now in a better position internationally than before. He attributed this, among other factors, to what he described as Pakistan’s “great victory” against India, saying the country’s international standing had been strengthened under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.
He reiterated Pakistan’s position that lasting peace in the region is not possible without resolving the Kashmir dispute.
Regarding the Indus Waters Treaty, Dar said India had unilaterally suspended the agreement and argued that India could not suspend the treaty unilaterally. He termed such a move a violation of international law and the agreement and warned that Pakistan would consider any Indian water aggression as an act of war.
Dar stressed that Pakistan wanted to further consolidate its relations with Britain through expanded economic, technological, investment and security cooperation, while continuing diplomatic engagement on regional and international issues.
