Islamabad, 25 January 2024 (TDI): Pakistan and Switzerland affirm the value of Bilateral Political Consultations in strengthening bilateral relations. Both agreed to continue cooperation in all matters of mutual interest, according to a statement issued by the spokesperson of the government of Pakistan.
This came at the 12th round of Pakistan-Switzerland Bilateral Political Consultations in Bern on 24th January 2024.
Additional Foreign Secretary (Europe), Ambassador Shafqat Ali Khan led the Pakistan side while the Swiss side was headed by its Assistant Secretary of State for Asia and Pacific Heinrich Schellenberg.
The two sides reaffirmed the value of Bilateral Political Consultations in strengthening Pakistan-Switzerland relations. They discussed all aspects of bilateral political relations and cooperation in trade and investment, security, and migration.
In Bern, the Additional Foreign Secretary also called on the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Alexandre Fasel. They exchanged views on further strengthening Pakistan-Switzerland bilateral relations including in the areas of climate change, human rights, and development cooperation.
They agreed on the importance of high-level exchanges and to further strengthen bilateral exchanges and dialogue.
11th round of Bilateral Political Consultations
The 11th round of Bilateral Political Consultations between Pakistan and Switzerland was held in Islamabad on 12 November 2021. The two sides exchanged views on bilateral relations, including political, economic, trade and investment.
Cooperation in the fields of education, science and technology, defence and security, agriculture, and at multilateral fora were also part of the parleys. Both sides expressed satisfaction on the existing cooperation mechanisms and agreed to further enhance the bilateral relationship.
Recognizing the vast potential of the two economies for mutually beneficial cooperation, the two sides agreed to take concrete steps to further enhance and expand bilateral economic and commercial interactions. Both delegation stressed the importance of regular high-level exchanges.
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Agreements between Pakistan-Switzerland
Pakistan and Switzerland enjoy close and friendly relations, both at bilateral and multilateral levels. Switzerland is one of the leading investors in Pakistan. The mechanism of Bilateral Political Consultations provides a useful platform to review bilateral relations and discusses future areas of cooperation.
There are numerous bilateral agreements between Switzerland and Pakistan covering a range of areas including investment protection, debt consolidation, aviation, double taxation as well as an exchange of information on financial accounts. Switzerland also engages in a regular political dialogue with Pakistan.
Free trade agreements (FTAs) are essentially intended to facilitate trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers between two or more countries. Minimizing customs tariffs is a central element of FTAs.
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