PM sets off for maiden Afghan visit today

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will leave for his maiden visit to Afghanistan today (Thursday) on the invitation of President Ashraf Ghani and is being seen as building on the sustained engagement between the two countries in recent months for enhancing bilateral cooperation in diverse fields.

While this is Imran Khan’s first visit since assuming office, he had last held a bilateral meeting with Ghani on the sidelines of the 14th OIC Summit in Makkah in May 2019. The prime minister also had a telephonic conversation with President Ashraf Ghani in September 2020. Announcing the prime minister’s visit, the Foreign Office said that the delegation would include the foreign minister, adviser for commerce and investment, and senior officials. “The prime minister’s visit is part of regular high-level exchanges between Pakistan and Afghanistan. President Ashraf Ghani had last visited Pakistan in June 2019,” said the Foreign Office.

The prime minister’s programme includes tete-e-tete with President Ashraf Ghani, delegation-level talks, and joint press stake-out. “The focus would be on further deepening the fraternal bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Afghan peace process, and regional economic development and connectivity,” added the Foreign Office. In this context, besides the foreign minister’s regular exchanges with his Afghan counterpart, there have recently been important visits from Afghanistan to Pakistan of Chairman High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Speaker Afghan Wolesi Jirga Rahman Rahmani and Commerce Minister Nisar Ahmad Ghoraini.

On August 31, 2020, the Second Review Session of the Afghanistan Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) was held in Kabul. As part of this process, and in run-up to the prime minister’s forthcoming visit, Adviser on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood visited Kabul from 16-18 November 2020 and held in-depth discussions on bilateral trade and investment ties and matters related to transit trade. “The people of Pakistan and Afghanistan are linked through immutable bonds of history, faith, culture, kinship, values and traditions. The prime minister’s visit will help foster a stronger and multi-faceted relationship between the two brotherly countries,” pointed out the Foreign Office.

Meanwhile, Wednesday saw the Ministry of Foreign Affairs launch its science diplomacy webpage which is part of the ministry’s efforts to increase its contribution to the global science diplomacy landscape and create synergies for international scientific cooperation. The webpage was launched by the foreign secretary and it is consistent with ‘Vision FO’ of the foreign minister. “The webpage will provide a one-stop resource to the Science, Technology, Innovation (STI) landscape of the country while also showcasing science and technology products and services portfolio from relevant institutions”, said the Foreign Office in a statement .

The webpage also includes a dedicated portal for registering overseas Pakistani STI professionals that will help create a ‘Diaspora Outreach Research and Innovation Network’, through which the ministry, especially its missions abroad, can effectively engage with its international scientific community. The portal will also facilitate a mapping and foresight exercise to identify Pakistan’s international knowledge community while acknowledging their scientific and technological achievements. During the launch, the Science Diplomacy Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also unveiled its new action plan which focuses on SDGs related thematic areas, science diplomacy platforms and institutions, and country-specific collaborations to provide direction to achieving its goals. Recognising the potential of science, technology, and innovation (STI) to solve global problems and as a platform to facilitate the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs), the ministry had launched its science diplomacy initiative in 2018.