Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar on Thursday met Australian Foreign Minister Senator Hon Penny Wong on the sidelines of 32nd ASEAN Regional Forum Ministerial Meeting here.
The deputy prime minister reaffirmed strong Pakistan-Australia ties and resolved to enhance cooperation in trade, education, and people-to-people links. In a “productive and forward-looking engagement,” he said that Pakistani diaspora and cricket were a living bridge between the countries.
Both sides agreed to boost bilateral trade, currently at $1.186 billion, promote academic partnerships, and increase high-level political exchanges.
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar met with the Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand in Kuala Lumpur today on the sidelines of the 32nd ASEAN Regional Forum Ministerial Meeting. The two sides acknowledged the positive trajectory of the Pak-Canada bilateral relations. They discussed and agreed to upscale and strengthen economic and trade relations.
Meanwhile, Pakistan and Lao have expressed their commitment to further enhancing bilateral cooperation particularly in trade and investment, education, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.
The understanding to this effect reached during a meeting between Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Thongsavanh Phomvihane, on the side-lines of the 32nd ASEAN Regional Forum Ministerial Meeting in Kuala Lumpur today. During the meeting, the two leaders reviewed the progress of ongoing bilateral engagements.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar held a bilateral meeting with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath, on the sidelines of 32nd ASEAN Regional Forum Ministerial Meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
The two Ministers expressed satisfaction over the robustness of Pakistan-Sri Lanka relations. They discussed bilateral relations in diverse fields, especially high-level exchanges, deepening economic ties, religious tourism and educational collaboration.
They also discussed a range of regional and global issues, including the recent developments in the region.
Besides, Ishaq Dar met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the 32nd ASEAN Regional Forum in Kuala Lumpur.
They reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening of bilateral relations and agreed to meet again next week during SCO council of Ministers meeting.