ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Kuwait on Wednesday said they were keen to expand their bilateral relations.

The resolve was expressed during a meeting between Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Kuwait’s Assistant Foreign Minister on Asian Affairs Ambassador Ali Suleman Al-Saeed.

The senior Kuwaiti diplomat is visiting Pakistan for the third round of Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC), which are taking place after over four years. The last round was held in Kuwait in May 2016.

Mr Qureshi, while reaffirming Pakistan’s desire for stronger bilateral relations with Kuwait, said there was a vast scope for enhancing cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, manpower export and food security.

In an apparent reference to travel restrictions on Pakistanis going to Kuwait, the foreign minister called for facilitating travel between the two countries, according to Foreign Office. He said this could help in building bilateral contacts.

Ambassador Al-Saeed said his visit to Pakistan was a reflection of the keenness of the leadership of Kuwait to enhance cooperation and collaboration with Pakistan in diverse areas.

Pak-Italy virtual discussion

Pakistan and Italy virtually held the fifth round of annual bilateral political consultations.

Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood led the Pakistani side, while Secretary General of Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ambassador Elisabetta Belloni led the Italian delegation.

“The entire spectrum of bilateral relations, including fight against the pandemic; political, trade and economic relations; energy; defence; migration; and people-to-people exchanges were reviewed during the consultations. Views were also exchanged on regional and global issues,” the FO said.

FS Mahmood sought Italy’s cooperation for dealing with the issue of migration. He thanked the Italian government for including Pakistan in the seasonal visa programme and non-seasonal work visas last year after a break of two years.

The foreign secretary also briefed the Italian side on the investment opportunities in Pakistan and called for increased business-to-business contacts. He held out an assurance that Italian companies and investors would be fully facilitated in all sectors.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2021