HAVANA/ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Cuba on Thursday agreed to maintain their upward trajectory in bilateral relations witnessed in the recent past.
This was stated during a meeting of Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani with Cuban Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Havana as a part of the Senate’s parliamentary delegation visit to Cuba.
“We need to further augment the existing warmth and goodwill to forge a mutually beneficial and future-oriented relationship between our two countries”, said Rabbani, adding that the two parliaments maintain close cooperation through exchange of visits and coordination at the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) on issues of common interest.
The Senate chairman said that people of Pakistan fondly remember and greatly appreciate the medical assistance provided by Cuba to Pakistan in the aftermath of the massive earthquake in 2005 and that kind gesture brought the two countries and people ever closer. Pakistan has also reciprocated by sending aid during the devastating hurricane in Cuba in 2008 and has also offered 100 scholarships in various fields for Cuban students. The government of Pakistan also donated 15,000 metric tonnes of rice to the people of Cuba in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Pakistan-Cuba diplomatic relations.
Raza Rabbani said that the gesture of goodwill has brought our two countries and people closer and opened up new avenues of cooperation. He asserted that Pakistan wishes to further strengthen bilateral cooperation with Cuba in all fields and there is a lot of potential for expansion in our relations, which once properly harnessed could benefit both sides considerably.
The Senate chairman said that in this age of globalisation where physical distances are losing relevance, the potential of Pakistan-Cuba relationship holds immense promise and prospects. He believed we should explore the areas to expand trade and investment avenues as economic cooperation provides the essential vehicle for adding content and substance to the bilateral relations. He said that the volume of bilateral trade is far below the actual potential and called for concerted efforts to enhance economic cooperation in new areas.
Raza Rabbani also informed the Cuban vice president that Pakistan’s strategic geographical location puts us in a unique position to act as a trade corridor connecting Iran, Central Asia, and China. He also expressed his hope for the enhancement of people-to-people contact, cooperation in education, science and technology, as well as supporting each other on multilateral issues.
The Senate chairman affirmed that Pakistan is committed to peaceful coexistence with its neighbours, especially Afghanistan and India, on the basis of mutual respect and equality.
Pakistan has suffered the most at the hands of terrorists and no nation has done more to eliminate terrorism more than Pakistan. He reiterated that Pakistan is committed to a meaningful dialogue with India, while on the contrary, the Indian side not only continues to escalate tensions and hype the media frenzy, it also armed twisted smaller SAARC members to undermine the Islamabad summit. He said that it is important to recognise that the Indian narrative of equating the movement of Kashmiri youth for the right to self-determination cannot be accepted and the human rights violations by the Indian occupation forces in Indian-held Kashmir cannot be negated. The international community should come forward to curb these human rights violations, he asserted.
