Islamabad: Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said that Pakistan emphasizes the importance of its longstanding relationship with the United Kingdom (UK), based on mutual respect and common understanding on a range of regional and international issues. It is time to further strengthen this cordial bond by increasing people-to-people contact, strengthening parliamentary engagement and strengthening economic relations for the mutual benefit of the two friendly countries. He expressed this view while addressing the British High Commissioner to Pakistan Mrs Jane Marriott in Parliament.
Emphasizing the importance of parliamentary cooperation, Speaker Sadyk said that parliamentary diplomacy has historically played an important role in strengthening bilateral relations. He emphasized regular exchanges and cooperation between the two parliaments through parliamentary friendship groups and high-level exchanges as an opportunity to learn from each other and benefit from each other’s experience. In this case, an invitation will be sent to the Speaker of the Parliament for a visit to Pakistan with the members of parliament.
Acknowledging the significant contribution of the Pakistani diaspora, the speaker praised their participation in the growth and development of the two countries. He described overseas Pakistanis as an invaluable asset to the country and said that he would take steps in collaboration with relevant stakeholders to facilitate overseas Pakistanis. He also said that the UK could offer more educational opportunities to Pakistani students in the form of scholarships.
Mrs. Jane Marriott thanked the Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan for his kind words and agreed to take up all the issues with the relevant authorities. He also expressed the hope that the two sides would work together to strengthen Pakistan-UK relations.
