Pakistan, EU enhance ties with 'Strategic Engagement Plan'

Lahore: Pakistan and the EU further strengthened bilateral ties with the Strategic Engagement Plan.

The plan was unveiled by Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini during a ceremony in Brussels.

Mogherini said the plan was "a forward-looking and very ambitious new political framework, which will enable us to further deepen our relations and enhance the level of our bilateral engagement while also addressing emerging global challenges.

"There are traditional areas of engagement that will remain prominent strands of our dialogue and cooperation, such as peace and security, democracy, the rule of law, good governance, human rights, migration and mobility, trade and investment."

She added, "I would like to wish us all the best for its implementation which now begins. It is not the conclusion of the work for us; it is the beginning of a new chapter in the history of our partnership. If and when implemented fully, this agreement will bring direct benefits to our citizens in Europe, in Pakistan, but also in the wider region."

Highlighting the close ties between the EU and Pakistan, Qureshi said, "Our cooperation is based on shared values of democracy, pluralism, mutual understanding and respect. It is a matter of satisfaction that we have elevated the Pakistan-EU partnership by signing the Strategic Engagement Plan."

He added, "The plan is an open-ended and long-term commitment to deepen our cooperation in diverse fields. It is a forward looking and comprehensive framework for strategic cooperation between Pakistan and the EU in peace and in security, trade and investment, migration, sustainable development, energy, education, and culture on mutually agreed basis.

"In the domain of peace and security the two sides will cooperate and learn from each others best practices including in cyber security, in combating money laundering and in crisis management. The plan will open new vistas of cooperation in terms of exchange of knowledge, people to people contacts, development projects and good governance," Qureshi stated.