The meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs was held under the chair of Hina Rabbani Khar. Foreign Secretary Amina Baloch gave a detailed briefing to the NA body on key issues. The meeting discussed the models of missions of various countries to the United Nations and the World Trade Organization in Geneva besides Pakistan's resources and expenses.
Chairperson Hina Rabbani Khar expressed serious concerns over the performance, resource utilization, and ineffective system at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Hina Rabbani Khar said she was very disappointed, “If you ask ChatGPT about a country's trade, it can tell you much better than Pakistani trade missions”. “We are spending 30 thousand dollars on this same practice and the results are not good. NA body had asked about EV vehicles data, but we were not told, the system creates a lot of problems”, NA body Chairperson Hina Rabbani Khar tells Foreign Secretary.
“I cannot change the organizational structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs without consulting the Ministry of Finance”, Foreign Secretary tells the meeting.
“We have to focus on utilizing the potential of the people in the field, Pakistan wins a seat in the UN Security Council every eight years despite all the pressure”, Hina Rabbani Khar briefs committee. “There is a shortage of resources while electric vehicles are very expensive, “Currently, electric and hybrid vehicles are very expensive”, Foreign Secretary replied. “Exercise on it and add fuel to see how much it will cost”, Hina Rabbani Khar advises Foreign Affairs Ministry. Hina Rabbani Khar advised Foreign Affairs Ministry to cut the expenses and merge WTO mission.
Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch said that currently, most countries in Geneva are covering both the UN and the WTO through a single mission while Some countries have established separate missions for the WTO, which include officers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce.
She added that Turkey's mission is from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the technical team works closely with the Ministry of Commerce.
Foreign Secretary said another model was India, which has a separate mission for the World Trade Organization.
The Indian mission is headed by the Minister of Commerce while the Deputy Permanent Representative is from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Amina Baloch said that the third model is Sri Lanka, which has a short but completely separate mission. The ambassador and officers are in the same mission while administrative support is provided through the UN mission.
Foreign Secretary added that many countries were still carrying out all responsibilities through a single mission. Hina Rabbani Khar questioned that how many countries were there that are carrying out different responsibilities under the same head of ambassador.
“It is not possible to give an exact number in this regard at this time”, Foreign Secretary replied. “We had instructed our missions abroad to get rid of the heavy rents of their offices”, Hina Rabbani Khar questioned. Foreign Secretary Amina Baloch said when the sources of revenue of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stopped, problems started arising. Amina Baloch claimed building in Jeddah has been completed and is about to be inaugurated.
Foreign Secretary said, “Our chancellery in Beijing has been renovated, we had a building in Beijing and National Bank is there”.
Foreign Secretary added that, “We have 121 buildings, 48 of which are owned by the government”. She added that Ministry of Foreign Affairs paid $6.4 million for the Chancellery and $8.4 million for the residences in 2024. We pay a total of $14.8 million to foreign countries. “We will deposit the money in Pakistani rupees in the National Bank here”, Foreign Secretary added.
Foreign Secretary added that Foreign Ministry’s 17 missions also have mortgage facility. How many mortgages are there and how much will have to be paid in this regard? Hina Rabbani Khar asked. Foreign Ministry official said it was currently working on it. She said Foreign Ministry has formed a committee which is working on these issues.
Foreign Secretary Amina Baloch claimed that “We have a very small Foreign Office and less available resources compared to other countries”.