Islamabad, 26 January 2022 (TDI): The Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi held a telephonic dialogue with his counterpart from Benin, the Foreign Minister Aurélien Agbénonci.
During the telephonic meeting, the two Foreign Ministers communicated contentment at the state of bilateral ties between Pakistan and Benin. The relations between the two partners are illustrated by the shared views on issues pertaining to regional as well as international significance.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi reaffirmed that Pakistan affixes great significance to its ties with Benin. He praised the substantive contributions of Benin to the regional and global organizations like the OIC, UN, ECOWAS, and AU.
Likewise, he also reminisced about the week-long sojourn by Pakistan Navy Ship (PNS) ‘Nasar’ to the Cotonou Port, earlier last year in March on a ‘Humanitarian & Disaster Relief Mission.’
Aside from that, the Pakistani Foreign Minister also emphasized the ‘Engage Africa Policy’ of Pakistan. The policy is aimed at improving political, diplomatic, and economic ties with Africa.
Whilst the Foreign Minister of Benin, Agbénonci on his part welcomed bilateral collaboration between Pakistan and his country in the domain of diplomatic training. In addition, the duo of Foreign Ministers also consented to boost the mechanisms for bilateral consultations along with enhancing interactions between the respective Foreign Ministries.
Benin: A West African Country
Benin is a French-speaking West African country. It is home to the former Dahomey Monarchy from circa 1600–1900. In Abomey, the Historical Museum occupies two royal palaces narrating the kingdom’s history and a throne mounted on human skulls.
Abomey is the former capital of Dahomey. Benin is one of the chief historic kingdoms of the western African forest area. It is illustrated by a remarkable assortment of landscapes as well as ecosystems.
Benin is bordered in the northwest by Burkina Faso whereas, Nigeria borders it from the east by, Togo at the west. Porto-Novo is the official capital, however, Cotonou is Benin’s largest city, along with being its principal port as well as its de facto administrative capital.
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