Spokesman Report
Islamabad: Baroness Chapman, the UK’s Minister for Development, is set to launch a new chapter in the UK-Pakistan development co-operation relationship through the first bilateral Ministerial federal-level development talks in 8 years. This new chapter is set to be one of mutual partnership, bringing benefits to both nations.
The announcement comes as part of an ongoing effort by the UK to go from development donor to investor, using British expertise to support countries to utilise their resources to maximum effect, while delivering growth at home.
Her visit comes as the UK-Pakistan relationship has reached new heights, with bilateral trade for the first time crossing £5.5 billion, and over 200 British businesses operating in Pakistan, bringing growth to both economies.
Together with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, she opened her visit through launching a package of regulatory reforms that help make Pakistan a better operating environment for business, supporting Pakistan’s continued growth and creating future opportunities for UK business.
She then launched the next phase of the Pak-UK Education Gateway alongside Minister for Education Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui. Delivered in partnership between the British Council and Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission, this initiative will enable leading academics in both countries to collaborate on shared challenges including climate change and growth. It will launch a start-up fund which will help bring innovative research to the market. And it will promote UK University courses to Pakistani students, giving them the chance to build skills at a British university, without having to leave their home cities.
In her visit, she has expanded areas of collaboration between the UK and Pakistan. Alongside Minister for Climate Change Musadik Malik, she has launched a new Green Compact between the countries. This is set to establish a framework for how the UK and Pakistan will work together to tackle the climate emergency, protecting nature, and harnessing the green revolution, while pushing global climate ambition forward.
The UK’s Development Minister, Baroness Chapman, said:
‘Pakistan is a crucial partner for the UK. We work together to tackle the drivers behind organised crime and illegal migration, keeping both our countries safer. Our strong bilateral trading relationship brings jobs and growth to us both. And we’re working together to tackle climate change, a global threat.
We remain firm friends of Pakistan, including in times of crisis, as shown through our floods response; and we know to accelerate growth in both our countries, we must work together in partnership to tackle the problems we face.’
During her visit, the Minister is set to see the strength of the UK-Pakistan development partnership first-hand. This includes through seeing the UK’s work on health and education; meeting the communities who have been vital to the UK’s efforts to support 2.5 million Pakistani people to better adapt to the effects of climate change in the last year; and meeting the UK-trained officers who are preventing human trafficking at airports.
Gwadar’s integration into Pakistan carries special importance for the Pakistan Navy, whose platoon led by Lt Iftikhar Ahmed Sirohey, later Chief of the Naval Staff and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, first hoisted the national flag in the city.
