Deepening relations with African nations: 'Envoys Conference' opens today

A two-day Envoys Conference being hosted by Foreign Office will open today to discuss ways and means for deepening relations with African nations and open new venues of cooperation with these countries.

Speaking at a news conference, Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal said that President Dr Arif Alvi will address inaugural session of the two-day Envoys Conference from 27-28 November 2019 and Prime Minister Imran Khan will address the concluding session on Thursday. Besides, he said that Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, Chairman Board of Investment (BOI) Zubair Gilani and Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Reza Baqir will also address the participants.

He said that the conference outcomes will be presented to the Prime Minister in the closing session along with concrete recommendations crafted by the envoys, proposing a way forward for robust engagement between Pakistan and Africa. He said that Pakistan's relations with African nations have always been characterized by cordiality, mutual trust and understanding. Consistent with the vision of leadership and priorities of the government, the conference aims at deepening Pakistan's engagement with Africa in the diverse fields, he added. He said that the conference will bring together the Pakistani envoys posted in Africa with important stakeholders including senior leadership from the relevant ministries and departments and representatives of the private sector.

He pointed out that Africa is the second largest continent of the world with 20 percent of the world's landmass and 54 sovereign states, with 1.2 billion people and the largest youth population on the globe. With a collective GDP of over US $ 2.3 trillion and an import market of around $ 500 billion, most countries in Africa are witnessing stable growth, he said. Due to its rich natural resources and growing middleclass consumer market, the World Bank has predicted that most African countries will reach middle income status by 2025. This presents a tremendous opportunity for Pakistani goods and services, he added.

As part of UN peacekeeping operations, he pointed out that Pakistan has made a significant contribution for peace, security and development on the continent over the past several decades. He said that the conference participants will deliberate on ways and means to further strengthen existing relations with the African countries and diversify and deepen political, economic, security and socio-cultural ties. He said that the conference will also provide leading manufacturers, exporters and IT organizations the opportunity to brief the Pakistani envoys on potential goods and services which can be exported to African markets.