Vienna (TDI): Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with the Federal Chancellor of Austria, Christian Stocker, at the Federal Chancellery located in the historic Hofburg Palace.
The Prime Minister was accorded a warm welcome upon arrival, including an impressive guard of honor ceremony, underscoring the cordial ties between the two nations. He also inscribed his remarks in the official Guest Book.
The two leaders first held a restricted meeting, followed by delegation-level talks covering a broad range of bilateral, regional and global issues.
The Pakistani delegation included Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi, and Foreign Secretary Ambassador Amna Baloch.
Recalling the longstanding and friendly relations between Pakistan and Austria, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to deepening cooperation across multiple sectors.
They identified economic cooperation, trade and investment, tourism and hospitality, education, information technology, healthcare, and human resource development and mobility as priority areas.
To accelerate progress, the two countries agreed to work toward the early finalization of several Memorandums of Understanding currently under consideration.
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They emphasized the central role of the United Nations in addressing contemporary challenges, including peace and security, peaceful dispute resolution, sustainable development, climate action, and the protection and promotion of human rights.
Reiterating their shared commitment to multilateralism, both sides appreciated mutual support for each other’s candidatures in international fora and pledged continued cooperation with the global community to strengthen the UN system.
A key highlight of the visit was the co-chairing of a CEOs’ forum by Prime Minister Sharif and Chancellor Stocker. The forum brought together leading Austrian and Pakistani companies operating in renewable energy, energy efficiency, industrial manufacturing and construction, information technology, textiles, surgical equipment, leather and sports goods, healthcare, tourism and hospitality, as well as food and agro-industries. Participants explored avenues to enhance collaboration and unlock new business opportunities.
Both sides agreed to expand government-to-government (G2G), government-to-business (G2B), and business-to-business (B2B) engagements through more effective use of existing platforms.
Prime Minister Sharif invited Austrian businesses to participate in the upcoming EU-Pakistan Business Forum scheduled to take place in Islamabad in April this year, expressing confidence that it would further strengthen commercial ties.
