Pakistan Diplomats Plan for a Successful 2024 at Envoys’ Conference
By Elaine Pasquini
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar kicked off 2024 with a major Envoys’ Conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on January 4 – 6. Diplomats from important capitals around the world, including Masood Khan, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States based in Washington, DC, participated in the conference and deliberated on various facets of Pakistan’s foreign policy.
Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani outlined the framework of discussions at the event, stressing the importance of this deliberative forum on diplomatic challenges and opportunities for Pakistan in view of global and regional developments. He underscored the need for strengthening the important anchoring role of the Foreign Office in foreign policy formulation and implementation.
In his key-note address, the caretaker prime minister shared his perspective about the pressing demands on the conduct of Pakistan’s foreign policy to align it with present-day imperatives. Pakistan’s foreign policyshould be guided by a vision of the country as a progressive, economically ascendant state that prioritizes the socio-economic well-being of its people.
Pakistan’s foreign policy should continue to aim for peace and mutually beneficial relations across the globe, he recommended. Kaker said that Pakistan will continue to stand for international law and the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, including mainstreaming economic diplomacy and giving full support to the Palestinian cause. He underscored that Pakistan would always champion the Jammu and Kashmir cause and the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute as per the United Nations Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
He described the conference as timely and relevant against the backdrop of profound transformations taking place in the region and around the world. He reaffirmed his trust in Pakistan’s diplomacy and the country’s outstanding diplomats in their capabilities to fully deliver despite pressing odds and expressed hope that the deliberations of this year’s forum would lead to practical suggestions to navigate Pakistan’s foreign policy through present-day challenges.
Winding up the successful three-day event, the caretake prime minister extended his best wishes to the Foreign Office and the country’s diplomats in safeguarding Pakistan’s interests and advancing the country’s global stature.
(Elaine Pasquini is a freelance journalist. Her reports appear in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and Nuze.Ink.)
