ISLAMABAD : Ambassador of Poland to Pakistan, H.E Maciej Pisarski has expressed concerns on illegal human traffiking from Belarus into European countries including Poland. He has shared that the Polish border control had dealt with nearly 27 thousand attempts of crossing the border from Belarus in last one year. Here it is important to note that Pakistan has signed an agreement with Belarus to send more than 100 thousand workers during the visit of PM and CM Punjab last year to Minsk.
He said this in a forum hosted by media organization “Pakistan in the World” at Islamabad Club to discuss the recent visit of Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Mr. Radosław Sikorski and Deputy Interior Minister Mr. Maciej Duszczyk to Islamabad on 23-25 Oct. The sides reaffirmed resolve to transform these relations into a comprehensive and mutually beneficial partnership.
The participants of the forum welcomed the highlevel visits from Poland and expressed their hope that the visit and discussions with Pakistan government will definitely go a long way in the promotion of bilateral economic cooperation that already crossed the first milestone of USD 01 Billion. Poland’s investment in oil and gas sector of Pakistan exceeds USD 500 Million, that contribute almost 20% of energy needs of the country.
The speakers observed that there remained immense untapped potential to further expand mutual partnerships. Bilateral ties continue to develop on a very positive trajectory.
The forum was hosted by Mr. Tazeen Akhtar from the platform of media group “Pakistan in the World” while a selected number of guests from different walks of life were present. Political Consular of Portugal Embassy Mr. David Arcao also participated in the forum.
Ambassador breifed the participants on the meetings and agreements between the officials of both sides. Sides agreed to expand bilateral cooperation in trade, energy, infrastructure, defence, counter-terrorism, science, technology and education in delegation level dialogue between the Deputy Prime Ministers + Foreign Ministers in lead at Ministry of Foreign Affairs Islamabad. They signed (MoU) that envisioned regular bilateral consultations, which is aimed at further enhancing cooperation between the two sides.
Poland has made remarkable economic progress to now become a trillion-dollar economy. Pakistan is keen to develop cooperation on public finances, fintech and water management as well.
“An important meeting was between Minister Interior Mohsin Naqvi with Poland’s Deputy Minister for Interior, Maciej Duszczyk in which the sides agreed to enhance cooperation in various fields including illegal immigration, border security, and mutual legal assistance, and decided to strengthen official-level engagement to further boost bilateral ties, Ambassador noted.
The speakers in the forum observed that the Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, rightly said that illegal immigration was a highly sensitive issue for Pakistan, and that the government is carrying out a vigorous crackdown against the mafias involved. Pakistan aims to strengthen the Coast Guards to ensure the security of maritime borders. The speakers emphasized on taking proper measures to stop illegal immigrants while the genuine visa holders should not be off loaded at Pakistani airports.
DPM Sikorski, in his visit, while delivering a lecture at ISSI, said for several years, Poland’s neighbours, Russia and Belarus “have been trying to help people smugglers breach our border, exploiting people, exploiting tragic situations and using them as a tool of hybrid warfare and putting them under unnecessary risk. And Poland had to respond. Polish borders are now some of the best protected borders of the EU”.
However, DPM Sikorski, also shared , “Poland remains open to legal migration, and for real studies for real students. But I want to emphasise that there is zero tolerance for illegal migration to Polish territory, which is simultaneously the EU territory.”
Ambassador Pisarski said, ” DPM Sikorski admired that the Pakistani diaspora in Poland had been growing over the past few years. It is still quite small, around 2,000 people, but a quarter of them are students. DPM expressed his happiness that Polish universities are popular among young, talented people from Pakistan, and hoped that their experience and impressions that they gather in Poland serve as a basis for actual people-to-people diplomacy.”
