BERLIN: Pakistan, in a bid to tap economic potential with Germany, will soon open a consulate in Munich, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi announced on Tuesday.

Talking to media persons in the German capital, Qureshi said Pakistan and Germany had high prospects of cooperation in trade and investment and expressed confidence that the new consulate would pace up the development in this regard.

The foreign minister said a Consul General would be appointed at the Munich mission to supplement the diplomatic efforts of embassy in Berlin.

He said Pakistan was committed to work out the Strategic Engagement Plan of Europe and added that the country could explore cooperation with Germany particularly in areas of information technology, solar energy and electric vehicles.

He expressed satisfaction that around 5,000 Pakistani students were currently studying at various educational institutions in Germany, adding that nation’s visionary poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal also studied at an institute in Munich.

Qureshi said efforts would be made to expand the scope of cooperation in education sector by engaging Higher Education Commission so that Germany could become a top destination for Pakistani students.

In a meeting with a representative delegation of the Pakistani diaspora in Germany, Qureshi said the government was making serious efforts to give the right of vote to the Pakistanis living abroad.

He said the option of electronic voting was under consideration to facilitate the expatriates.