Caretaker foreign minister meets Australian, Turkmenistan, Czech envoys.

ISLAMABAD  -  Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani yes­terday expressed Pakistan’s desire to strengthen partnership with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to improve the lives and live­lihoods of people through joint initiatives.

Speaking to Resident Representative of UNDP Pakistan Samuel Rizk here, Jilani termed UNDP a critical partner in Pakistan’s national development agenda. He said Pakistan desired to strengthen partnership with UNDP to improve the lives and livelihoods of people through joint initiatives.

Separately, Australian High Commissioner Neil Hawkins called on Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani here and discussed matters relating to mutual interests. During the meeting the high com­missioner briefed the foreign minister on Pakistan-Australia ties in multiple domains. The foreign min­ister emphasized importance of regular dialogue under existing mechanisms & high-level visits to give impetus to bilateral ties, said a Foreign Office statement. Later, Dean of diplomatic corps, Ambas­sador of Turkmenistan to Pakistan, Atadjan Mov­lamov called on Foreign Minister Jilani. During the meeting, they discussed state of bilateral relations and expressed the resolve to further strengthening ties in various fields of mutual interest, the FO said.

Meanwhile, Ambassador of Czech Republic to Pakistan Tomás Smetánka also called on the caretaker Foreign Minister. They expressed satisfaction over the existing level of bilateral ties and agreed to further strengthen the same in trade, investment, education cooperation and mobility of labour from Pakistan to Czech Repub­lic. “Views were also exchanged on regional and global issues,” said an FO statement.