Pakistani chief diplomat Mahmood Qureshi pays official visit to Romania

The Foreign Minister of the government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Hussain Qureshi, is paying on Monday an official visit to Romania, where he will have meetings with Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Bogdan Aurescu, Agerpres reports.

The Pakistani official will be received on Monday, at 10:00, at the Victoria Palace, by Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca, according to the schedule announced by the government.

Also, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Aurescu, who has invited Qureshi to Romania, will also have political consultations with his Pakistani counterpart on Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) informs.

According to the source, it is the first visit to Romania of a Pakistani foreign minister in the last two decades and takes place in the context of a "positive dynamic" recently recorded in the Romanian-Pakistani relations, considering the "essential support" that Pakistan has given to Romania's efforts to evacuate from Afghanistan its own citizens, other citizens from allied countries and 156 Afghan citizens in risk situations, in August and September 2021.

"During the political consultations of the two foreign ministers, the ways of developing the bilateral relationship, deepening the political dialogue, as well as the economic and sectoral cooperation between the two countries will be discussed. Also, aspects such as strengthening the dynamics of EU-Pakistan relations and the main developments of common interest for the two states will be addressed, with a focus on the Indo-Pacific region and the situation in Afghanistan," the MAE said.

On the occasion of the visit, a cooperation agreement will be signed between the Chamber of Trade and Industry of Romania and the Association of Chambers of Trade and Industry of the Republic of Pakistan and a framework cooperation agreement providing for an exchange of scholarships between the Polytechnic University of Bucharest and the University of Islamabad, the source said.