ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Wednesday Islamabad was excited to strengthen its “economic diplomacy footprint” in Egypt.
Qureshi’s remarks came after he arrived in Cairo on a two-day visit on the invitation of his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Hassan Shoukry.
“Pleased to arrive in Egypt,” Qureshi tweeted. “Ahead of tomorrow’s official consultations, great to meet with a delegation of prominent Egyptian businessmen to discuss investment in Pakistan and the strengthening of our #economicdiplomacy footprint.”
Pleased to arrive in Egypt on invitation of Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. Ahead of tomorrow’s official consultations, great to meet with a delegation of prominent Egyptian businessmen to discuss investment in Pakistan and the strengthening of our #economicdiplomacy footprint. pic.twitter.com/cflTr9KNeQ
— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) February 16, 2021
Radio Pakistan reported that the foreign minister met prominent members of the Egyptian business community and urged Egyptian companies to invest in various sectors in Pakistan, particularly housing and construction, energy and health.
“The foreign minister assured the Egyptian investors and businessmen of the government’s every possible cooperation and facilitation in their profit-oriented business and investment activities in Pakistan,” the state-run media reported. “He said Pakistan’s improved rating in terms of ease of doing business at international level depicts full confidence of international community in the policies of present government.”
President and CEO of renowned Egyptian company Elsewedy Electric Ahmed Elsewedy, a world leader in products and services for energy, digital and infrastructure, also called on Qureshi in Cairo and showed interest in investing in Pakistan.
“Talking to him, the foreign minister said Pakistan is an emerging market and business companies from around the world are showing interest in investment in Pakistan due to prudent economic policies of the government,” Radio Pakistan said.
On Tuesday, before he left for Cairo, Qureshi had said Islamabad wanted to “re-engage” with Egypt as it was an important nation in the Muslim Ummah and also often called the gateway to Africa.
“The [Egyptian] foreign minister has invited me and on that invitation I am going to Egypt so we can re-engage with this important country,” the foreign minister said in a recorded video message before leaving for Cairo. “It is our administration’s policy to strengthen our relations with the African continent since we believe we have not fully explored its markets yet. It is extremely important for our economic diplomacy to engage with markets in Africa.”
“There are plenty of opportunities for both countries,” Qureshi added. “We can get into defense cooperation with each other. Pakistan can also expand its economic base by constructively engaging with Egypt.”
While in Egypt, the foreign minister will meet Egyptian media and the business community and also visit Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt’s oldest degree-granting university and renowned as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic learning.
Qureshi’s visit comes less than two weeks after Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to expand Pakistan-Egypt ties, particularly in the areas of trade, education and culture, in a meeting with the ambassador of Egypt to Pakistan, Tarek Dahroug.
Khan has also met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi twice since he became PM: first, on the sidelines of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Makkah Summit in 2019, and then on the sidelines of the 74th UN General Assembly in New York in 2019.
Last year, Khan also spoke with the Egyptian president over the phone regarding the PM’s ‘Global Initiative on Debt Relief’ for developing countries during the coronavirus pandemic, which was supported by Egypt.
