FM Khar eyes strong bilateral ties with Australia, Mauritius, Indonesia, Netherlands

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Hina Rabbani Khar on Tuesday held bilateral meetings with Foreign Minister of Australia, Mauritius, Indonesia and Netherlands and discussed issues of mutual interest.

According to a press release received here Wednesday from New York, Foreign Minister Khar during her meeting with Australian counterpart, discussed flood situation in Sindh, Pakistan's counter-terrorism efforts, bilateral economic cooperation as well as development assistance.

Khar stated that there is a scope of economic cooperation between the two countries in the fields of human resource development and agriculture sector.

The Australian Foreign Minister said his country was constructively engaged with Pakistan in many sectors and would continue to do so.

During her meeting with the Foreign Minister of Mauritius, both Ministers reviewed bilateral economic relations and expressed satisfaction that institutionalized cooperation in trade and commerce was growing between the two countries.

Pakistan has been playing an active role in the financial sector of Mauritius. Foreign Minister also showed her willingness to continue to provide technical assistance to Mauritius and maintain high-level contacts between the two countries.

During Khar's meeting with foreign Minister of Indonesia, both sides expressed satisfaction on convergence of perceptions on issues of bilateral interest. Both ministers hoped that the Joint Ministerial Commission to be held in 2012 will go a long way in deepening and broadening the economic relationship between the two countries.

The Foreign Minister of Indonesia also expressed sympathies with the flood-affected population of Pakistan.

During the meeting with the Foreign Minister of Netherlands, foreign Minister Khar appreciated Netherlands's positive and proactive role within the European Union as well as in the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FODP) process.

Both sides expressed satisfaction over the existence of a formal process of bilateral political consultations between the two countries. Foreign Minister of Pakistan hoped that Dutch business would be encouraged to undertake joint ventures in Pakistan in the areas of agriculture and dairy.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011