ISLAMABAD, Feb 25 (APP):Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi held an important meeting in Rome with Greece’s Minister for Migration & Asylum Athanasios Plevris, during which both sides agreed on enhanced cooperation against illegal immigration and human smuggling.
During the meeting, the two ministers decided to undertake joint measures to curb unlawful migration networks and strengthen coordination between relevant institutions.
Both countries also agreed to increase collaboration for promoting legal migration, including a commitment to expand the number of work visas for Pakistani workers.
A significant breakthrough came as Pakistan and Greece agreed to finalize the long-pending bilateral migration cooperation agreement, which has been awaiting completion for two years. It was also decided to constitute a Joint Working Group to operationalize future cooperation frameworks.
The Greek minister appreciated Pakistan’s strong actions against illegal migration and human smuggling, acknowledging the country’s “effective and commendable” policies.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi welcomed Greece’s support in enhancing the professional capacity of police and paramilitary forces, especially in technology-based operations, stressing that expanding legal migration pathways is essential to counter illegal routes.
He reiterated that Pakistan has adopted a zero-tolerance policy against illegal immigration and human smuggling.
The Greek minister reaffirmed his country’s readiness to collaborate with Pakistan at all levels for promoting legal migration.
During the meeting, Punjab Police officers briefed the Greek side on the effectiveness of Police Khidmat Markaz Global, which received strong appreciation from Minister Plevris.
Also present were Pakistan’s Ambassador to Italy Ali Javed, Dr Usman Anwar, Ahsan Younas, along with senior police officers Sohail Chaudhry and Abid Khan.