Dear Readers, Today, we celebrate 26 years of the re-unification of Germany. I think that you agree with me that the timesince last year's German National Day has been really veryprolific for the relationship between Germany and Pakistan.
Apart from Government to Government contacts, eg on issues such as vocational training and energy, we could witness a lot of official visits of younger Pakistanis who travelled to Germany on official missions or for studies, thus strengthening the outstanding "fabric" woven between our two countries.
Business co-operation and trade are the backbone of our bilateral relations. The recent visit of Mr. Stephan Steinlein, State Secretary of the German Federal Foreign Office, who came to Pakistan together with a businessmen's delegation, and the one-week investment promotion tour of the Sindh Board of Investment to Germany in April 2016 were highlights on the way to more trade and business exchanges between Germany and Pakistan. The same applies for the newly created German-Pakistani Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI) with its main seat in Karachi and regional offices in Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar.
Those who follow the German Consulate-General's information given via web and social media could witness many German-Pakistani cultural projects implemented since October 2015. Let me use the opportunity to announce a multitude of cultural highlights during the upcoming "German Weeks" in Karachi, jointly organized by the teams of the Goethe-Institut and the German Consulate-General.
As we celebrate the Day of German Unity I would like to thank all those who contributed in one or the other way in strengthening the bilateral relations between Pakistan and Germany.