Pakistan and Canada on Monday, citing a huge scope for bilateral cooperation, stressed the need for mutual efforts to elevate bilateral relations in multiple domains, including trade, investment, defense, security, agri-food, and manufacturing.
The matter was highlighted as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar and Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand made their opening remarks before their delegation-level talks held here at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister Dar, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand is undertaking an official visit to Pakistan – the first one since she assumed office.
In his remarks, the deputy prime minister welcomed his Canadian counterpart, mentioning that it was the first visit by a Canadian Foreign Minister to Pakistan in two decades.
Referring to their previous meeting on the sidelines of multilateral fora, he emphasised meeting more frequently in their respective capitals.
“We have the capacity and the potential to elevate our bilateral relations in terms of trade, investment, defense, and security. There is huge scope here,” he remarked.
He told the visiting dignitary that Pakistan attached great importance to the long-standing relationship with Canada which was further bolstered by a large Pakistani diaspora there.
“This relationship is based on mutual respect, democratic values, vibrant people-to-people ties, and constructive cooperation at both bilateral and multilateral levels,” Deputy Prime Minister Dar said and expressed the hope that their discussions during the talks would translate the renewed momentum they started last year into concrete outcomes, providing a clear direction for advancing our bilateral relationship.
In her remarks, Foreign Minister Anita Anand said that she had been looking forward to the work to reinvigorate the bilateral relationship.
She said that this year marked approximately 80 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
“We have more work to do together to ensure a strong bilateral relationship across various sectors of our respective economies— from agriculture and agri-food to manufacturing and beyond. I look forward today to exchanging views on the progress we have made to date, as well as to further deepening the ties between Canada and Pakistan,” she said.
Foreign Minister Anand said that Canada was home to approximately 300,000 Canadians of Pakistani descent, who were excited about the work they were doing together.
She said that on a broader level, in light of the shifting international order, both sides had important work to do together.
Earlier, upon her arrival at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Prime Minister Dar welcomed the Canadian foreign minister.
