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Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg Visits Pakistan

AUSTRIA, March 16 - From 16 to 19 March 2022, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg will travel to Pakistan and visit the capital of Islamabad as well as Lahore, the country’s second-largest city. In Islamabad, the Foreign Minister will meet with the Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan, with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and with the head of the Pakistani Army, General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

The political consultations will focus on the situation in neighbouring Afghanistan. The professional support from Islamabad meant that in the summer of 2021, more than 300 people could be evacuated from Afghanistan to Austria. Now all available means must be used to prevent further destabilisation of Afghanistan’s immediate neighbours, and to restore a minimum rule of law in the country itself.

We must bring the Taliban to a point that gives the people of Afghanistan a hopeful perspective of their own country. The neighbouring region will play a central role here,

said Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg during his meeting with the Foreign Minister of Pakistan.

Furthermore, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg will also discuss the Russian war of aggression with Pakistan’s representatives. Pakistan abstained from the United Nations resolution condemning the Russian attack. On this issue, Foreign Minister Schallenberg will attempt to convey to Pakistan the shared, unequivocal position held by the EU and its like-minded partners.

The bitter reality is that Russia’s war of aggression is not just a European concern. The shock waves can be felt worldwide, including in Pakistan. For instance, Ukraine is one of the largest wheat suppliers in Pakistan, and energy security is also an issue in this part of the world,

said the Austrian Foreign Minister, emphasising the global effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The final part of Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg’s visit to Pakistan will include meetings with representatives of civil society in the areas of human rights, the rule of law and women’s rights in Lahore. After his stay in Pakistan, the Foreign Minister will continue to India on 19 March 2022, where he will remain until 21 March 2022. There too, the Foreign Minister’s schedule features high-ranking meetings.