ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has urged the Canadian government to reconsider its decision of suspending flights from Pakistan due to COVID-19 situation in Canada.
The foreign minister received a telephone call from his Canadian counterpart Marc Garneau and was briefed on the decision by the Canadian government to suspend flights to and from Pakistan in the wake of an upsurge in COVID-19 cases in Canada.
During the call, matters pertaining to COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral ties and regional situation were discussed, Foreign Office said in a statement here.
Foreign Minister Qureshi apprised the Canadian Foreign Minister of the effective measures taken by the government of Pakistan to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the lives and livelihoods of Pakistani people.
He stated that Pakistan and Canada had historically enjoyed cordial relationship and underlined the need to enhance the bilateral relations in political, economic, security and cultural fields for mutual benefit of the two countries.
He offered condolences on the loss of precious lives in Canada due to COVID-19 and extended good wishes to the Government and people of Canada to combat the pandemic in a holistic manner.
He appreciated the inclusion of Pakistan in Students Direct Stream (SDS) while expressing hope that it would help augment access of more Pakistani students to the educational institutes of Canada.
Foreign Minister Qureshi requested to re-establish Canadian visa processing center in Islamabad following improvement in the law and order situation in Pakistan. He thanked the government of Canada for positively revising travel advisory for Pakistan.
Foreign Minister Marc Garneau offered condolences on the loss of precious lives in the recent attack on a hotel in Quetta. He also appreciated the joint statement adopted at the conclusion of the Trilateral Meeting of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey held last week in Istanbul.
Foreign Minister Qureshi thanked the Canadian Foreign Minister for his telephone call. Both ministers extended invitations to each other to visit the respective countries on mutually convenient dates and agreed to remain in contact in future as well.
