‘Pakistan’s relations with Southern African countries’

Pakistan
must take concrete measures for its ‘Look Africa’ policy: IPS Webinar

Pakistan
must take concrete measures to materialize the recently announced ‘Look Africa’
policy in real terms, said Ambassador (retd) Najam-us-Saqib, former Pakistan’s
envoy to South Africa, Brazil, Kenya, Bangladesh and Cuba, at a webinar titled
‘Pakistan’s relations with Southern African countries’held at IPS on
February 2, 2021.

The
session was chaired by Chairman IPS Khalid Rahman and moderated by Sr. IPS
Associate Ambassador (retd) Tajammul Altaf and attended by many foreign policy
analysts and researchers.

Commenting
on Pakistan’s bilateral relations with South Africa, which is the biggest
country in the southern region and member of G-20 and BRICS, the former
ambassador said that  Pakistan enjoys strong ties with it, especially
defense cooperation as the COASs from both countries visit each other
regularly.

However,
he rued that bilateral trade volume between both countries stands at meager
$600 million, and no Pakistani head of the state has paid a visit there in the
last 15 years, except former President Mamnoon Hussain, who went there to
attend the last rites of late Nelson Mandela.

Najam-us-Saqib
believed that despite a large number of Pakistani expatriates living in South
Africa, the stretch of cultural and political relations with South Africa and
other southern countries including Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and
Mozambique is not significant.

People
in South Africa, he informed, still remember the leading role played by
Pakistan against the apartheid. However, the benefits of such cordial
relationships are yet to be reaped. He further stressed the need for initiating
joint ventures in the mining sector with South Africa.

The
ambassador emphasized resuming direct flights from South Africa to Pakistan and
opening of banking channels as no Pakistani bank operates in South Africa. He
also suggested promoting Pakistani films and dramas and organizing cultural
events in South Africa to bolster cultural ties.

Concluding the session, IPS Chairman Khalid
Rahman opined that Pakistan needs to acknowledge the importance of African
countries, especially the southern region, and identify areas of
cooperation.