Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi met with a group of former Foreign Secretaries/Ambassadors of Pakistan at the Foreign Office today to exchange views on important foreign policy issues, including Pakistan’s relations with India, the recently – held US – Pakistan Strategic Dialogue and the upcoming Pakistan – European Union Summit to be held in Brussels next month.

The meeting was attended by Mr. Abdul Sattar, Mr. Akram Zaki, Mr. Inamul Haq, Dr. Humayun Khan, Dr. Tanvir Ahmad Khan, Mr. Najmuddin Shaikh, Mr. Shahryar Khan, Mr. Shamshad Ahmed Khan, Mr. Riaz M. Khan, Mr. Ashraf Jahangir Qazi, Mr. Asif Ezdi, Mr. Aziz Ahmed Khan and Mr. Tariq Osman Hyder. Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir also attended the meeting.

Foreign Minister Qureshi briefed the group about Pakistan’s principled position vis-à-vis India, stressing that Pakistan genuinely wanted to normalize its relations with India on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual respect. It was necessary that our two countries reverted back to a meaningful and structured dialogue process as this was the only way forward.

The Foreign Minister also apprised the group of the outcome of the Pakistan – US Strategic Dialogue held in Washington on 24 – 25 March 2010. It was underlined that a significant process had begun towards moving the bilateral relationship from transactional to strategic partnership between the two countries. Pakistan and the US had now agreed to develop multifaceted bilateral ties on the basis of mutual interest, mutual respect and mutual trust.

On the upcoming Pakistan – EU Summit in Brussels, the Foreign Minister said that Pakistan attached immense importance to its relations with the European Union. The forthcoming Summit would provide a useful opportunity to further strengthening our engagement and interaction with the European Union.

The participants complimented the Foreign Minister for steering and aligning the foreign policy to Pakistan’s long-term security and development interests. They stated that the Composite Dialogue between Pakistan and India had produced good results. It was in the interest of both Pakistan and India to resume result-oriented dialogue, and sooner the better. They also agreed that Pakistan’s relations with the US were important and that the Government’s efforts towards evolving a strategic partnership were in the right direction.,/p>

Foreign Minister Qureshi welcomed suggestions made by the participants and appreciated their candid observations. The Foreign Minister agreed to continue this interaction with the view to benefiting from the wisdom and experience of Pakistan’s former diplomats who had severed the country with great distinction.,/p>

 

Islamabad

29 March 2010