Islamabad, The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Islamic Republic of Pakistan have agreed on evolving a multi-faceted cooperation framework to further strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation in areas of economy, health, education, climate change and security.

The consensus to this effect was reached during a bilateral meeting meeting between State Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia H.E. Ambassador Mesganu Arega and his counterpart in Pakistan H.E. Hina Rabbani Khar.

The meeting was also attended by the senior ministers of the government of Ethiopia, H.E. Jemal Beker Abdula, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the FDRE to Islamic Republic of Pakistan and others.

During the meeting, both the dignitaries discussed a range of issues including matters of mutual interest .i.e. political, economic and social cooperation.

H.E. Ambassador Mesganu Arega said his country would look forward to deepen its ties with Pakistan which had huge potential of business, trade and investment with Ethiopia.

He said Ethiopia and Pakistan established their bilateral relations in 1958 and since then both the countries have been supporting each other at international forums consistently.

Opening of the Embassy of Ethiopia in Pakistan reflected that the government of Ethiopia attached great importance to Pakistan which had a critical role in Asia and the world, he maintained.

Mesganu Arega said there was no doubt that commencement of flights between Ethiopia and Pakistan would connect both the countries by bringing their people more close.

The Minister of State of Ethiopia expressed gratitude to Pakistan and its people for standing by their side in defending his country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

H.E. Hina Rabbani Khar said seventy years back Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto inaugurated Pakistan’s embassy in Ethiopia. She said witnessing the achievement of next important milestone in journey of Pak-Ethiopia relations was a privilege for her.

The Minister of State said Pakistan desired to engage with Africa meaningfully and be a partner of in its journey of growth and prosperity.

Highlighting significance of direct flight operations by Ethiopian Airlines to Karachi, she said opening of direct flights between the two countries would provide a fresh impetus to our bilateral trade and people to people connection.

She expressed hope that this embassy would be instrumental in materializing that potential for the mutual benefit of our countries.