Friday, 29 March 2024, 02:33:16 am

Analysts hope Foreign Minister’s visit to Romania and Spain will improve Pakistan’s ties with these countries
January 09, 2022

Dr. Huma Baqai (IR Expert): The foreign minister reached Bucharest in the first leg of his three day visit to Romania and Spain. It is a good development that Pakistan is exploring new countries for having better economic ties. There is a huge potential of Pakistan’s trade with Spain and Romania. A large Pakistani Diaspora in Spain serves as a strong bridge between the two countries. Pakistan will definitely seek support from different countries on the prevailing Afghan situation. Pakistan is already playing a frontline role in highlighting the Afghan situation and miseries of Afghan people at this point of time. Pakistan needs to expand its foreign diplomacy and explore new friends to seek support on various issues. India has launched a propaganda campaign against Pakistan and it is the high time to search for new friends and gather their support in this regard. Romania and Spain are important partners of Pakistan, both bilaterally and in the context of the European Union. 

Dr. A. Z. Hilali (IR Expert): The economic and trade relations between Pakistan and Romania and Spain have been growing and Bucharest is an important trading partner of Islamabad. Both countries have been enjoying historical friendship and traditional cooperation in many fields for the past many years but there is a need to enhance trade volume between the two countries. The visit of Foreign Minister to Romania and Spain is a positive development. This visit is aimed at witnessing new dynamics, with a result-oriented political dialogue and positive developments in the economic/commercial, educational and cultural fields. The European countries have good trade ties with Pakistan and have contributed a lot to improve our exports. Pakistan will definitely convey its narrative to the European Union on the Afghan issue and will try to gather support of these important countries in this regard. Pakistan has launched a global campaign to garner support for the Afghan people and is time and again urging the world to come forward to support Afghan people in order to avert the humanitarian crises.

Hassan Khawar (Spokesperson, Punjab Government): The provincial government will devise a comprehensive policy to avoid such incidents in future. Moreover, CM Punjab has announced to form a seven member committee for inquiry into the tragic incident of Murree headed by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Punjab. The committee will present its report in seven days and strict action will be taken against the responsible. The traffic control system to manage the traffic will be improved and we have also been planning to enhance the local capacity in the hotspots to deal with the flow of the tourists. A comprehensive joint action plan of all departments concerned with detailed mechanisms will be implemented to ensure the safety of tourists. The Punjab government has also allocated funds worth 1.76 billion rupees support to the affected families. There is news of overcharging from the stranded tourists in Murree by the private hotels, so there is a need to regularize this sector. The main cause of deaths in cars was Carbon Monoxide as the blocked exhaust can quickly kill people.