ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Canada on Thursday agreed to further boost parliamentary linkages to benefit from social, cultural and economic prospects in both the countries.
The agreement was reached during a meeting between the Canadian High Commissioner Perry John Calderwood and Chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani at Parliament House.
Mian Raza Rabbani said that Pakistan and Canada had increased bilateral trade and economic cooperation recently. “There is huge potential to promote it further. Both the countries have supported each other on international forums particularly during the parliamentary interactions,” he said. He said that Pakistan was a diversified country with bright economic prospects and places its mutual relations with Canada in high esteem and desired to further expand these ties in different sectors.
Both sides agreed to utilize parliamentary friendship groups and reciprocate by devising modalities for enhancing cooperation and sharing experiences. He also emphasized the need for further cooperation in various sectors along with promoting people to people contacts for better understanding to bring both the countries closer to each other.
Rabbani said that Pakistan appreciated the measures of the Canadian government for taking good care of the Pakistanis and expected the other countries of the Western world to follow the Canadian example. He said that he was a strong believer in the parliamentary diplomacy as it had the added advantage to improve relations among nations, where bureaucratic interactions are bogged down. He said that Pakistan looked forward for close and friendly relations with Iran and Afghanistan. The recent visit of a parliamentary delegation, headed by the National Assembly speaker, has contributed to this effect. “However, the relation with India cannot improve until the Kashmir issue is resolved. The violation of international law by the Indian forces in occupied Kashmir and human right violations need to be condemned by the civilized world,” he said.
