ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Thursday said that his ministry’s efforts under ‘economic diplomacy’ helped in bringing improvement by 39 points in Pakistan’s ranking in ease of doing business, seven percent increase in trade with Africa, and an increase of over US$ 2 billion in the export of information technology and IT-based sectors.
Speaking at NUST Institute of Policy Studies (NIPS) on “Vision FO -Multidimensional Diplomacy for Durable Peace, Inclusive Growth and Shared Development”, he said that due to Imran Khan government’s shift of focus from geo-politics to geo-economics, economic diplomacy has assumed higher priority in the conduct of Pakistan’s foreign policy.
Throughout the year, he added that under Vision FO, he has personally remained engaged with the missions abroad to review their activities regarding export and investment promotion, increasing investor confidence, enhancing remittance inflows, tourism promotion, and broadening of trade ties with host countries.
He said that the effort to promote and expand our trade and investment portfolio across the world together with steps taken at various levels at home has led to concrete achievements.
On “Digital Diplomacy”, he said that the Digital Diplomacy is a pivotal aspect of Vision FO, and is in line with Prime Minister’s vision of a Digital Pakistan.
Under the digital reform agenda, he added we have launched the Foreign Minister’s Portal that provides the diaspora direct access to all 114 Pakistan Missions abroad based in 87 countries with a view to efficient handling and addressing of their issues.
He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan launched “Automation of Power of Attorney”, to resolve a perennial problem of overseas Pakistanis. Initially launched as a pilot project in 10 Missions in the United States and the United Kingdom, this facility will be extended to all our Missions abroad, he added.
He said that under Prime Minister Khan’s leadership, the government has proactively and consistently advanced our diplomatic objectives both bilaterally and multilaterally. “We have consolidated friendships and strengthened bilateral relations with major powers and key partners across all regions. We have put to use various tools of diplomacy be it economic diplomacy, science diplomacy, public diplomacy or digital diplomacy, to lead the advocacy for durable peace, inclusive growth and shared development,” he added.
Guided by the prime minister, he added Pakistan is a leading voice at multilateral forums with strong advocacy on issues of sustainable and equitable development, climate change, debt relief, corruption and illicit financial flows as well as Islamophobia.
“And we are pressing ahead on the clear pathway provided by the policy shift with increased focus on geo-economics, leveraging our geo-political significance,” he said.
On Afghanistan, he said that post-15 August 2021, Pakistan geared its diplomacy for garnering regional and international consensus for constructive and sustained engagement with the new interim authorities in Afghanistan. Our overriding concern is to avert a humanitarian catastrophe and an economic meltdown, he said, adding that Pakistan played a pivotal role in the safe evacuation of over 90,000 individuals across 42 nationalities, consisting of diplomats, International NGO workers, media persons and many, many others.
This included the establishment of the six-country format of immediate neighbours of Afghanistan on Pakistan’s initiative, our participation in the Moscow format and other meetings, and the Troika Plus meeting held in Islamabad, including the interaction with the Afghan interim authorities, he added.
He stated that the high point of these activities was the Extraordinary Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers hosted by Pakistan in Islamabad in December 2021 to focus on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.
Under the public diplomacy, he said that the Foreign Office is working with all our Missions abroad through both traditional and new tools of diplomacy to create a voice that would resonate with the global community and to dent the deep rooted negative perceptions about Pakistan through fresh and positive narratives.
“Keeping our interests supreme, we must navigate through this tumultuous external environment to ensure that Pakistan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence are secured and Pakistan’s development agenda is advanced,” he said.
He said that Pakistan is pursuing a proactive foreign policy with a focus on the global agenda.
“The future is unpredictable but we have the resilience and experience to deal with the challenges ahead,” he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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