ISLAMABAD, NOV 28 /DNA/ – German Ambassador, Ina Lepel, called on Chairman Senate Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani at the Parliament House. The Chairman Senate called for strengthening bilateral cooperation across parliamentary, economic, developmental, and people-to-people domains.
Chairman Senate emphasized that Pakistan attaches great importance to its longstanding relations with Germany, particularly in the realm of parliamentary diplomacy, economic areas and defence sides. He encouraged the early formation of the Bundestag’s Parliamentary Friendship Group on Pakistan, noting that Pakistan already has an active Parliamentary Friendship Group on Germany. He stated that parliamentarians across all political parties in Pakistan are keen to further deepen ties with Germany.
On climate cooperation, the Chairman Senate highlighted climate change as a shared priority and underscored the importance of Climate and energy Partnership between the two sides. He noted the vast potential for collaboration in renewable and green energy sectors. He also called for enhanced cooperation in technical and vocational training, noting that Pakistani graduates could become valuable contributors to the German labour market. On economic and investment ties, he thanked Germany for its steadfast support in securing Pakistan’s GSP Plus status within the EU framework. Referring to the bilateral trade volume, Mr. Gilani highlighted the significant potential for further expansion of trade relations. The Chairman invited German businesses to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan. He informed that SIFC is a one window solution to facilitate investors. In the field of education, Gilani expressed satisfaction over the growing number of Pakistani students in Germany. Speaking on defence relations, the Chairman said Pakistan and Germany share more than seven decades of defence cooperation. He emphasized that joint ventures and mutually agreed R&D initiatives could further strengthen bilateral defence ties.
The Chairman underlined Pakistan’s expectation for the early completion of the German-sponsored Afghan relocation program. Regarding Afghan refugees, the Chairman Senate observed that Pakistan hosted 3.5 million Afghan refugees for decades and now the world has forgotten about them.
The meeting concluded with both sides reaffirming their commitment to expanding cooperation in diverse sectors and working closely to further solidify Pakistan–Germany relations. The German Ambassador also expressed sympathies and solidarity with Pakistan on the recent terrorist incident in Islamabad in which several people lost their lives and many got injured. The Chairman Senate said that we need to work together for peace and security.
