ISLAMABAD, Nov 30 (KUNA) -- Pakistan and Egypt on Sunday have reaffirmed the commitment to deepen their bilateral ties in all domains including trade, investment, security, agriculture and people-to-people contacts. The understanding comes during a meeting between Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and visiting Foreign Minister of Egypt, Dr. Badr Abdelatty in Islamabad.
In a joint press stakeout after the meeting, Pakistani Deputy Prime Miniter said that the two sides held a focused discussion on increasing bilateral trade potential and strengthening Business to Business linkages.
He said Islamabad will share a comprehensive list of 250 businesses in key sectors of the economy with Cairo to be facilitated and supported by Egypt to enhance bilateral commercial engagement.
He further said that after six months of this initial list sharing, another list of 250 business entities will also be shared with Egypt under the same mechanism taking the total number of Pakistani businesses to 500 to be developed with Egypt's collaboration.
Ishaq Dar said that a new Pak-Egypt Business Council will be established to institutionalize private sector cooperation and promote mutually beneficial commercial partnership between the two countries.
He said Pak-Egypt Business Forum will also be established soon to promote B2B cooperation. He said that the two countries have agreed to double the number of scholarships for Pakistani students at the renowned Al Azhar University, Cairo.
On his part, the Egyptian Foreign Minister highlighted and lauded the longstanding brotherly ties between Pakistan and Egypt, reiterating his country's commitment to enhance and further deepen bilateral ties with Pakistan in all areas of mutual interest.
The visiting dignitary expressed condolences over the loss of precious lives in recent incidents of terrorism in Pakistan, adding that his country is ready to offer all-out cooperation to Pakistan in the fields of agriculture, trade and investment, pharmaceuticals, public health and in countering extremism.
Earlier, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, Dr. Badr Ahmed Mohamed Abdelatty, arrived in Islamabad on a two-day official visit to Pakistan at the invitation of Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar.
The visit reflects the longstanding and cordial relations between Pakistan and Egypt, grounded in common faith, cultural affinity, and shared perspectives on regional and international issues.
It will contribute to further strengthening the strategic direction of Pakistan-Egypt relations and placing them on a broader trajectory, with a focus on political, economic, defense, cultural, and people-to-people cooperation, said Pakistan Foreign Office. (end) sbk.seo