Chairman Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani has said that Pakistan and Germany share rich a history of diplomatic relations based on mutual trust, cooperation and a commitment to global peace and development.  These views were expressed by him during a meeting with a three-member German parliamentary delegation led by Michael Muller, MP German Bundestag which called on him at the Parliament House. Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani said that Germany is a valuable partner of Pakistan bilaterally and in the EU context and we are keen to further strengthen this partnership. He specially mentioned the high level contacts and said that Pakistan desires to promote more interactions at all levels. He also underscored need to promote parliamentary exchanges between the two countries and said that high level political contacts help bring people closer. He informed that the Senate of Pakistan is working on establishing friendship groups to promote people to people contacts for better understanding.  

The Chairman Senate appreciating development cooperation expressed the desire to continue efforts for tackling climate change related challenge. He said that German assistance for rehabilitation flood and earthquake victims was remarkable as it helped in providing relief to the homeless and shelter less communities during the crisis at that time. He said both Pakistan and Germany enjoy cordial relations and cooperation at international forums like IPU and CPA. Such a bond of friendship and collaboration shows that Germany is a trusted partner, he remarked. Yousaf Raza Gilani also emphasized increasing bilateral trade volume and said that huge potential exists to further boost mutual trade and economic cooperation.  During the meeting, the Chairman Senate observed that education, sports particularly football, energy, health, environment and climate change are some of the areas where Pakistan can learn from German experiences.

He also appreciated Germany for providing scholarships to Pakistani students for higher studies. He specifically observed that inordinate delays in the issuance of student, family reunion and business visas create hardships for the people and hoped that the issue would be addressed as early as possible. The Chairman Senate said that Pakistan is committed to promoting peace and stability in its neighborhood and beyond on the principles of UN charter for peaceful settlement of disputes through dialogue and diplomacy. He said that durable peace in South Asia remains contingent upon peaceful resolution of Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions and as per aspirations of the Kashmiri people. He said that human rights have remained a top concern for European countries and in this regard they may use their influence over India to improve the human rights situation in IIOJK and halt political engineering.

He also highlighted the Palestine situation and said that it is deeply upsetting for Pakistan that Israeli aggression against civilians in Gaza and Rafah does not show any sign of stoppage. He called upon the international community to take steps for immediate ceasefire and reiterated that there can be no peace in the region unless dialogue based approach on the two States solution is adopted. Speaking about defence cooperation between Pakistan and Germany, Yousaf Raza Gilani called for revisiting the German decision for imposing ban on selling small arms to Pakistan.

Regarding Afghanistan, the Senate Chairman said that Pakistan hosted more than 3.5 Million refugees for decades after the Soviet invasion and still continue to host a large number of refugees. Currently there are three thousand refugees who have not been relocated and Germany should help in this regard. Peace in Afghanistan is in the best interest of Pakistan, however, the human rights violations are a great concern for us. “My passion is to work for peace”, Chairman Senate pointed out. We want a stable, prosperous, independent, sovereign and peaceful Afghanistan which is in the best interest of Pakistan and the region. The Chairman Senate also acknowledged the positive role played by Pakistan diaspora in the socio-economic development of Germany while saying the community is acting as a bridge between Pakistan and Germany.

Senator Sherry Rehman , Senator Irfan Siddiqui and Senator Abdul Qadir from the Pakistani side also expressed their views during the meeting. They called for cooperation in diverse sectors including energy, climate change to introduce new approaches and pathways for de-carbonization. Senator Sherry appreciated German assistance in the field of climate finance. Senator Irfan Siddiqui emphasized the need to enhance cooperation in the education sector. Senator Abdul Qadir observed to further cement business to business linkages.   He observed that 60% of our population consists of youth and in this regard called for more technical training programs from medium to highly skilled workers and continue exchange of technology.  

The leader of the German delegation thanked Chairman Senate for the warm welcome at the Parliament House. He said that Pakistan is an important country for Germany and should continue to act as a stability anchor for the region. He also called for broadening the mutual collaboration and diversify the linkages. He said that Pakistan is most affected by the impacts of climate change and there is huge potential where both Pakistan and Germany can work together and share experiences. The Chairman Senate also celebrated the seventy years of Pakistan-Germany relationship and extended an invitation to his counterpart in the German parliament to visit Pakistan at a convenient time.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)