Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Sunday that Pakistan will share a list of 250 business houses with Egypt to enhance bilateral commercial engagement.He was speaking to the media alongside Egyptian PM Badr Abdelatty, who arrived in Islamabad last night for a two-day official visit. During his visit, Abdelatty would discuss a wide agenda — from consultations on conflicts, including Gaza and Sudan, and the dispute over the Iranian nuclear programme, to ways of boosting economic cooperation.Addressing a joint press conference later, Dar noted Abdelatty’s visit reflected the “longstanding friendship” between the brotherly countries of Pakistan and Egypt.“Discussions today reaffirm the strength of Pakistan-Egypt relations, and our shared commitment to further enhance bilateral cooperation across political, economic, defence, cultural and people-to-people domains,” Dar said.“We agreed to work towards a more structured framework of cooperation and to explore new avenues of partnership,” the deputy premier noted, adding he was confident that the visit would “open new avenues of practical cooperation” between the two countries.Dar said he and Abdelatty had a “very very focused discussion” today on how their nations could contribute to elevating the business-to-business upscaling of the bilateral activities, which the deputy PM termed as “surely not commensurate”, with around $300 million.“With the depth and the affection the two countries have, we have agreed No. 1, that Pakistan will share with Egypt a comprehensive list of 250 Pakistani business houses representing key sectors of the economy,” Dar announced.“These businesses will be facilitated and supported to enhance bilateral commercial engagement,” the deputy premier highlighted. Dar noted that the two leaders also assessed the regional developments, with “particular focus on the grave situation in Gaza”.“Pakistan appreciates Egypt’s vital role in humanitarian support, mediation efforts and diplomatic engagement to uphold the ceasefire and safeguard the rights of the Palestinian people.”“Pakistan values Egypt as a key partner in the Muslim world and looks forward to continued engagement at all levels,” Dar affirmed.The two ministers also discussed India-occupied Kashmir, Afghanistan and cooperation at multilateral fora.Would like to elevate ties with Pakistan to strategic level: Egypt FMIn his remarks, FM Abdelatty termed Pakistan his “second home country” and conveyed Egypt’s condolences over the “tragic loss of lives and injuries” in the recent terrorist attacks in Islamabad and Peshawar.“We stand in full solidarity with Pakistan in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism,” the Egyptian top diplomat affirmed. “I would also like to convey our deep appreciation of our very cordial relation with Pakistan,” he said, acknowledging “common challenges” on the economic, political and security levels.“That, of course, encourages us to work together and to cooperate in terms of exchange of best practices and expertise to help each other, and to confirm that stability and peace and development are the main pillars of our strategic partnership,” Abdelatty said.“We would like to elevate our relationship to the strategic level,” the minister added.He expressed Egypt’s willingness to “reinvigorate the existing institutional mechanism of dialogue and cooperation” between Pakistan and Egypt, especially the Joint Ministerial Committee, whose last meeting was held in Cairo in 2010.“So it’s timely now to convene the upcoming joint committee meeting. We would also like to agree on a roadmap for our cooperation, which will cover all areas of cooperation — political, economic, investment, trade, security, religious and cultural dimensions.”Noting that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi had instructed him to further enhance bilateral cooperation with Islamabad, Abdelatty said, “Sky’s the limit for our cooperation.” Dar said Abdelatty’s visit “reflects our shared commitment to deepening bilateral ties across economic, defence and cultural domains”.“Pakistan holds its relations with Egypt in very high regard and we view this visit as an important opportunity to advance our common objective,” the deputy premier highlighted.“I appreciate the positive momentum in our recent engagements at different levels, including our interactions on the margins of regional and multilateral fora around the globe,” he added.“Egyptian and Pakistani brotherhood is broadly known all over the world,” he said, adding that both he and Abdelatty had a great responsibility to take their countries’ diplomatic, economic, trade, business, security, and defence relations to a “much higher level”.Earlier today, Dar received FM Abdelatty upon his arrival at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Foreign Office said on social media platform X.Both were to hold “important bilateral consultations”, the post added. More to follow
Pakistan to share list of 250 business houses with Egypt to enhance bilateral economic ties: Dar
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