PAKISTAN AND EGYPT HOLD 9TH ROUND OF ANNUAL BILATERAL CONSULTATIONS (ABC) IN CAIRO

Islamabad: March 25, 2021:The 9th round of Pakistan-Egypt Annual Bilateral Consultations (ABC) was held at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Cairo on 24 March 2021. Dr. Khalid Hussain Memon, Special Secretary (Middle East), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan and Ambassador Tarek El-Wassimy, Assistant Foreign Minister for Asian Affairs of Egyptian Foreign Ministry led their respective delegations. Both sides reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and agreed to work together on a number of proposals in the areas of education, culture, housing, transportation, communication and remote sensing, and cooperation between Gwadar and Suez Ports authorities. The two sides also agreed to continue close cooperation in the multilateral organizations, in particular the United Nations and the OIC. The delegations also exchanged views on regional and international developments. The Special Secretary apprised his counterpart about the human rights situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and underscored the importance of peaceful resolution of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions. Earlier in the day, the Special Secretary (Middle East) met with Vice Foreign Minister Ambassador Hamdi Sanad Loza and handed over a letter from Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, addressed to his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry. Annual Bilateral Consultations (ABC) is a mechanism for political consultations between the two Foreign Ministries under which the two sides meet in Islamabad and Cairo periodically. The previous round took place in Islamabad in December 2018. The two sides agreed to work together closely in preparing for the Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC), to be held in Islamabad in 2021. The JMC is co-chaired by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the two countries.