Bilawal thanks German support on GSP Plus status

ISLAMABAD: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock Thursday called Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and discussed bilateral ties and the regional situation.

Bilawal underscored that Pakistan highly valued its relations with Germany, both bilaterally and in the context of EU, which should expand further in all areas of mutual interest, says a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He recalled Foreign Minister Baerbock’s visit to Islamabad last month, which had added momentum to the growing bilateral collaboration. Bilawal further said Pakistan and Germany had a robust economic engagement that needed concerted efforts to strengthen further.

He expressed Pakistan’s interest in deeper bilateral engagement in the field of climate change and ‘capacity enhancement of our scientific institutions dealing with climate change’. He also appreciated Germany’s steadfast support for Pakistan’s GSP Plus status, which was a mutually beneficial arrangement.

In the context of the situation in Afghanistan, he underlined that Pakistan had been facilitating the evacuations on a humanitarian basis. The foreign minister also reiterated the need for scaling up support of the international community for protecting the lives and livelihoods of the Afghan people in the wake of dire humanitarian and economic crises and acknowledged Germany’s humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan.

Bilawal invited Foreign Minister Baerbock to visit Pakistan at a mutually-convenient date. Baerbock thanked Bilawal for the invitation and invited him to visit Germany. The two ministers agreed to remain in close contact.