Qureshi hails US's decision of resuming talks with Taliban

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday welcomed the Untied States' decision of resumption of the stalled peace process with the Taliban and assured Pakistan's reconciliatory role for peace in the war-torn Afghanistan.

Talking to US Chargé d' Affaires in Pakistan Paul W Jones who called on him here at the Foreign Office, the foreign minister said that development of the entire region directly depended upon the peace in Afghanistan.

According to the media office of the foreign minister, the two sides also exchanged views on situation in Afghanistan, overall security situation in the region, and bilateral relations between Pakistan and the United States.

Qureshi said Pakistan welcomed the US decisions to resume peace talks with Afghan Taliban, adding Pakistan would continue playing its reconciliatory role for peace and stability in Afghanistan.In a separate event in the Foreign Office, the foreign minister launched 'Vision FO' to ensure a vibrant and effective foreign policy to protect political and economic interest of Pakistan.

Addressing the launching ceremony, the foreign minister said the launch of new website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would help enhance accessibility and it would be more informative for the visitors. He said it would be followed by another launch of "FM Direct" application, which would connect officers of the Foreign Service to the Foreign Minister and the Foreign Office directly from any part of the world. He said 'FM Direct' would create an environment of meritocracy in the Foreign Office.

He said Foreign Office had enlisted a secure and active video conferencing facility to connect with the key capitals of the world to get first hand and prompt knowledge of the developments taking place across the world.

He said, "We are going to restructuring, redesigning and relocating Foreign Service Academy to provide state-of-the-art training facilities to Pakistani as well as diplomats from across the region."

Qureshi underscored the need for optimum utilization of available tools and facilities in a more scientific way to upgrade foreign policy of the country. He said, "We are also going to launch 'FM Connect' to engage with different stakeholders, including think-tanks, academia, and media persons for an effective foreign policy formulation."

He said, "We are going to engage with seasoned, experienced and retired diplomats under Foreign Minister Advisory Council to relate current challenges with their past experiments."

The foreign minister said economic diplomacy had a vital role in attracting investments, enhancing the country's trade and exports with foreign countries. "For this purpose, we organized a two-day envoy's conference titled Engage Africa and the next conference has been scheduled in Nairobi to promote political and economic interests of Pakistan," he added.

He said the diplomatic corps should look into the memoranda of understanding and other agreements, Pakistan had signed with various countries, and devise a policy how they could be used for improving lives of common people.

Highlighting importance and contributions of overseas Pakistanis, Qureshi called upon Pakistan's ambassadors posted in foreign countries to tap the huge potential of Pakistani Diaspora living in European and other countries.

The foreign minister also chaired a meeting to discuss the framework for INGO registration and working in Pakistan earlier in the day.

Minister of Interior Brig Ijaz Shah (retd) and senior representatives of other relevant departments attended the meeting.

The foreign minister appreciated the constructive role of civil society organizations in supporting the government's efforts for inclusive and sustainable development.

He said Pakistan, being an open and progressive democracy, provided the necessary space to the civil society to perform their work in their respective domains.

He added that INGOs, in line with national priorities and regulatory framework, could play an important role in the socio-economic development of Pakistan.

He stressed that collaboration between the government and INGOs was necessary to achieve common objectives of better service delivery to the people.