FM Qureshi arrives in Spain on three-day visit

MADRID: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi arrived on a three day visit to Spain at the invitation of his counterpart José Manuel Albares Bueno.

Pakistan’s ambassador to Spain Shujaat Rathore and officials of Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the minister upon arrival. Besides meeting with his Spanish counterpart, Foreign Minister Qureshi will hold meetings with other Ministers and Members of the Spanish Parliament.

According to the Foreign Office, a large Pakistani diaspora in Spain serves as a strong bridge between the two countries. In 2021, Pakistan and Spain celebrated the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

The statement said Romania and Spain are important partners of Pakistan, both bilaterally and in the context of the European Union. The Foreign Minister’s visit will give further impetus to the growing cooperation with these two friendly countries.

Foreign Minister Qureshi expressed hope that the visit will strengthen existing relations between Pakistan and Spain.

Earlier on his first leg of of the tour, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi met with Prime Minister of Romania Nicolae Ciuca and discussed bilateral matters, the situation in Afghanistan, and the human rights abuses in the Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

On his arrival at the PM Office, Foreign Minister Qureshi was received by the Romanian Chief of Protocol. The foreign minister conveyed good wishes from Prime Minister Imran Khan and highlighted the historic and cordial ties between the two countries.

He told the Romanian PM that Pakistan desired to establish broad-based and result-oriented ties with his country and the current improvement of the bilateral relations manifested the vision of the two leaderships.

The foreign minister lauded the anti-COVID measures by Romania and thanked the Romanian PM for a donation of 500,000 doses of anti-COVID vaccines to Pakistan by his government.

Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca appreciated the role of Pakistan in the context of Afghanistan particularly for the evacuation of the Romanian citizens.

Discussing the regional and international matters, the foreign minister particularly highlighted the Indian human rights abuses in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and the situation in Afghanistan. He also appreciated Romania’s role to support Pakistan in obtaining the GSP Plus facility.