Pakistan and Germany: Turning a new page

Foreign Minister of Pakistan Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would be commencing his official visit to European countries with Germany, the political and economic powerhouse of European Union, as his first point of engagement on the invitation of his German counterpart, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. Building on a solid foundation of mutually beneficial bilateral engagements, the visit is expected to usher in a new phase of comprehensive cooperation between Pakistan and Germany.

Trade and Investment are critical to any country’s prosperity- fueling economic growth, supporting jobs at home, raising living standards and helping the people provide for their families etc. With the mission of ensuring the livelihood and uplifting the living standards of its people, the government has trade and investment at the heart of its Foreign Policy and Economic Diplomacy.

Despite challenges by the Covid-19 pandemic, bilateral relations between Pakistan and Germany continue to deepen and strengthen. Various global and regional developments have brought the two countries even closer, giving further momentum to high level exchanges. Spring time visits by the new German Foreign Minister and Special Representative on Afghanistan followed by Pakistan’s Ministers of Commerce & Trade, Climate Change and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs have accentuated these growing ties and brought out Pakistan’s unique geo-strategic location and our role as an important regional player.

The visits this year have also built on the upward trajectory of exchanges last year when the foreign minister and Chief of Army Staff visited Germany proceeded by two successive visits to Pakistan by the then German foreign minister.

During these recent exchanges, both, Pakistan and Germany have expressed mutual agreement to diversify existing relations to include greater, tangible cooperation in the fields of climate change, renewable energy, labour mobility and transfer of technology. These are also in line with the priority areas of the new governments in Germany as well as in Pakistan. Building on this foundation of mutually beneficial engagement, we are working to develop synergies between Pakistan-a resource rich country with abundance of cheap skilled and semi-skilled labour, raw materials and thriving consumer market- and Germany’s search for new markets to reduce its dependence on traditional trade partners.

Putting our plans into motion, Pakistan has already signed a letter of Intent toward its Climate Partnership with Germany, as a pioneer country. The Letter of Intent is an important precursor to the broader Climate Partnership which would provide avenues of cooperation to mitigate the adverse impact of climate change in Pakistan including the use of green financing. We are also working to bridge Germany’s dire shortage of skilled labour and Pakistan’s huge youth bulge through a mechanism of Labour Mobility that would allow Pakistani skilled and semi-skilled labour to easily access German employment market. Curriculum development, its recognition and verification on European standards form important aspects of our efforts.

Presently bilateral trade between the two countries continues to record a steady growth. It stands at $3,875 million with the balance of trade in favour of Pakistan. European Union’s award of the GSP plus scheme for Pakistan, in January 2014, has been a major contributor to this gradually improving trade figure. Diversification of our trade portfolio beyond traditional textile and surgical goods, addition of value-added items into our export mix suitable for European market and ensuring greater access & outreach of our businesses in the German market would be game changers for our trade. Many German business giants like BASF, BMW, Daimler AG, DHL, Linde plc (Chemicals), Lufthansa Cargo, Merck Group, Metro Cash and Carry and Siemens are Metro Cash and Carry (Wholesale), and Siemens are running profitable operations in Pakistan. We continue to attract German companies to invest in Pakistan through public-private partnerships in the key areas mentioned above.

People-to-people contacts are quintessential vehicle for creating awareness of one’s culture, history and traditions. In a bid to deepen our footprint in Germany and to facilitate our growing diaspora, we are opening our new Consulate General in Munich, shortly. The Consulate General would provide a much needed platform to reach out to one of Germany’s richest regions, home to many industrial powerhouses. Coupled with the opening of a state of the art, Iqbal-Goethe Cultural and Trade centre, these new developments will be instrumental is promoting people-to-people contact which form the bedrock of bilateral relations.

As we make preparations to welcome the foreign minister, I am confident that the decades of mutual goodwill and cooperation between the Pakistan and Germany, energised by recent exchanges, will set the ball rolling for further important high level exchanges in the near future.

The writer is Ambassador of Pakistan to Germany.