VIENNA, Feb 16 (APP): Prime Minister, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Monday met Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria, Christian Stocker here at the Federal Chancellery in the historic Hofburg Palace.
Upon his arrival at the Federal Chancellery, the prime minister was received by Chancellor Stocker and welcomed by an impressive guard of honour ceremony. He also inscribed his comments in the Guest Book, a PM’s Office news release said.
The two leaders held a restricted meeting, followed by delegation-level talks, which included Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Attaullah Tarar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, Syed Tariq Fatemi as well as Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch.
Both leaders recalled the friendly and historic ties between the two countries and committed to work together more closely to further strengthen the bilateral relationship in diverse fields including economic cooperation, trade and investment, tourism, hospitality, education, IT, healthcare and human resource development and mobility. They agreed to work for the early finalization of MoUs under consideration related to these areas.
Both sides also exchanged views on regional and global developments, and agreed on the central role of the United Nations in addressing the challenges of peace and security, peaceful settlement of disputes, sustainable development, climate action and protection and promotion of human rights.
They expressed their shared commitment to multilateralism, and appreciated mutual support for each other’s candidatures, while working together with the international community for strengthening the UN system.
The prime minister and the federal chancellor of Austria also co-chaired a forum of CEOs of leading Austrian and Pakistani companies working in renewable energies, energy efficiency, industrial manufacturing and construction, IT, textiles, surgical equipment, leather and sports products, healthcare, tourism and hospitality and food and agro-industries.
It was agreed to expand government-to-government (G2G), government-to-business (G2B) and business-to-business (B2B) engagements between the two countries through the effective utilization of the existing platforms.
The prime minister invited the Austrian businesses and companies to participate in the upcoming EU-Pakistan Business Forum to be held in Islamabad in April this year.
The prime minister thanked the Federal Chancellor for the meaningful and productive meetings during the visit, that would lend fresh impetus to bilateral ties. He extended an invitation to the Federal Chancellor to undertake an official visit to Pakistan, at his earliest convenience.