National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq Tuesday said that Pakistan wanted a comprehensive and enduring partnership with the European Union to facilitate human and institutional development in the region and beyond.
He was speaking to an EU parliamentary delegation led by David McAllister, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of EU Parliament, which called on him here the at Parliament House, according to a press release.
EU Ambassador Jean Francois Cautain was also present on the occasion. The NA Speaker underlined the need for cementing inter-parliamentary relations to assign substantive meaning to Pak-EU relations.
He said that Pakistan sought a strong partnership with the European Union to strengthen democratic institutions and forge sustainable patterns of governance at all levels.
Pakistan, he said, was committed to promoting regional peace and security.
Highlighting Pakistan’s role in the global war on terrorism, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said that the country was the stage of one of the biggest fight against terrorism and a military operation was in its final stage, which had subsequently minimised the terror threats yielding positive results.
He said that Pakistan was making efforts to resolve all outstanding disputes peacefully through dialogue as peaceful resolution of the issues was imperative for regional peace and stability.
The Speaker highlighted that Pakistan’s entire political leadership was determined to fast-track progress on outreach to Europe as part of its regional connectivity endeavours.
He outlined that Pakistan had resolved to root out terrorism from the region.
He said that Pakistan’s was the first parliament in the world to be completely powered by solar energy and contributed surplus energy to the national grid through net-metering license.
David McAllister acknowledged Pakistan’s aspiration for regional peace and security and endorsed Ayaz Sadiq’s proposal for expansion and diversification of trade and economic relations.
He said the EU Parliament was also keen to partner with Pakistan for an uplifting performance of democratic institutions, strengthening rule of law and promoting genuine human development in the region.
A pro-active role of parliaments in cementing EU-Pakistan ties was highly imperative, he added.
The EU parliamentarians praised Pakistan’s continued strides towards democracy and parliamentary supremacy. They took keen interest in the working of the parliament and sought queries from the Speaker on the electoral reforms, enhanced parliamentary scrutiny of the executive and its legislative performance.
