ISLAMABAD: On the invitation of his Egyptian counterpart, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will visit the Arab Republic of Egypt from February 16-18, 2021, the foreign office said in a statement on Monday.

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.

“During the visit, the Foreign Minister will hold detailed consultations with his Egyptian counterpart and call on other dignitaries,” the foreign office said in a statement. “He will also interact with leading Egyptian businessmen and members of the Pakistani community. The visit of the Foreign Minister is expected to further strengthen and diversify Pakistan’s bilateral ties with brotherly Egypt.”

The foreign office added that Pakistan and Egypt enjoyed close fraternal relations firmly anchored in “common faith, culture and values and had similar views on a range of regional and global issues.

“Bilateral cooperation is advanced through strong institutional mechanisms, including the Joint Ministerial Commission, Annual Bilateral Consultations, and Joint Business Council,” the statement said. “More than 40 agreements signed between the two sides [Pakistan, Egypt] in diverse fields provide a firm basis for enhanced cooperation. Pakistan and Egypt also work closely in the multilateral arena, in particular the United Nations, OIC and the Non-Aligned Movement.”

In December 2020, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi held a telephonic conversation with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Hassan Shoukry and discussed ways to further strengthen and diversify bilateral relations and enhance collaboration in multilateral organizations.

“The two Foreign Ministers agreed to continue engaging on regional and global issues and working to enhance bilateral ties,” the Pakistani foreign ministry had said in a statement.