ISLAMABAD, January 28 (Asia Free Press): Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, spoke with Ivory Coast Foreign Minister Kandia Kamissoko Camara and discussed matters of bilateral interest and cooperation, local media reported.
Identifying mutual trust as an anchor of their fraternal ties, the two Foreign Ministers reviewed bilateral relations and appreciated traditional coordination of positions and support for each other’s candidatures at regional and international fora, reported APP.
Foreign Minister Qureshi emphasised the high importance accorded by Pakistan to ties with Ivory Coast, a country in West Africa and lauded its positive and essential contributions to regional and international organisations, including the United Nations, AU, OIC and ECOWAS.
Highlighting common aspirations and convergence of views on international issues with Ivory Coast, the Foreign Minister highlighted Pakistan’s steadfast commitment to its peace and prosperity, including through contributions to UN Peacekeeping Mission during 2004-17.
Foreign Minister Qureshi also highlighted Pakistan’s ‘Engage Africa’ policy to deepen further political, trade and diplomatic ties with the Continent and its emphasis on Ivory Coast among the countries where Pakistan is establishing its new diplomatic missions in Africa.
The two Foreign Ministers welcomed the appointment of Pakistan’s first Ambassador to Ivory Coast, expected to arrive in Abidjan shortly.
The two top diplomates reaffirmed their desire to welcome each other in Abidjan and Islamabad within mutually convenient timeframes to take forward the process of further consolidation and expansion of bilateral relations.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi, as a Foreign Minister playing his active role to adopt mutual and understanding bilateral engagements and cooperation with border-sharing and regional countries for durable peace and long-lasting regional and international political stability.
As Foreign Minister, he also played his role very efficiently to normalise the tense humanitarian crisis in war-torn Afghanistan. He arranged the 17th extraordinary OIC-CFMs special moot on Afghanistan, which concluded on December 19, 2021, in Islamabad with remarkable outcomes.
