Tunisia and South Africa are Posting Ambassador/ High Commissioner in Islamabad
Photo exhibition of Kenyan landscape Soon in Islamabad | Group of Photographers sent to Kenya
Pakistan is not the member of The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)
Report : Tazeen Akhtar | Pictures : Asif Farooq
Additional Secretary Foreign Affairs , Head of Africa Desk Ambassador Hamid Asghar Khan has highlighted tremendous potential of the continent of Africa for Pakistan to foster trade and economic cooperation and suggested high level official visit to African countries. He has shared that African missions in Islamabad are upgrading the representation in Islamabad. He mentioned ,in this regard, that Tunisia and South Africa are posting Ambassador and High Commissioner in Pakistan.
He was addressing to the participants of Pakistan–Africa Diplomatic Roundtable, convened by The DICE ( DICE Diplomacy Inclusion Climate Action Education ) Forum in collaboration with Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 4 September held at Inter Parliamentary Congress IPC Secretariat, Islamabad.
Amb Hamid Asghar Khan , as the torch bearer of Pakistan Africa Cooperation, apprised the participants of the opportunities Pakistan and Africa possess and offer each other that can, once utilized, can change the bilateral trade and relations landscape altoghether.
He described Africa as an “ocean of opportunity” for Pakistan. He noted that the continent’s population of approximately 1.4 billion, vast natural resources, expanding markets and development needs offered considerable potential for Pakistani businesses.
It was a dialogue on Pakistan–Africa building meaningful people-to-people connections.
Ms Aliya Agha, Chairperson, The DICE Forum conducted the dialogue attended by Amb Hamid Asghar Khan , Additional Secretary MOFA Pakistan and Mr. Mohamed Karmoun, the Dean of African Missions in Islamabad , Ambassador of Morocco.
High Commissioners of Kenya, High Commissioner of Mauritius H.E Munsoo Kurrimbaccus (Mansoor Kareem Bakhsh) HE Lt. General (R) Peter Mbogo Njiru, High Commissioner of Rwanda H.E Harerimana Fatou , Ambassador of Zimbabwe H.E Titus Mehliswa Johnathan Abu Basutu, Deputy Head of Mission of Egypt Aly Ashmawy, Honorary Consul Ghana Omar Khalid Butt Fatchima Hassane Paraiso, Programme Assistant, OIC-COMSTECH, Uganda, Boniface Njuguna, Commercial Attaché Kenya participated in the roundtable.
President Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce Usman Shaukat represented the business community of Pakistan. From Ministry of Industries and Production Shahid Iqbal Qureshi, Former President Islamabad Stock Exchange Zahid Lateef Khan and Former MD Overseas Pakistanis Foundation Habib ur Rehman were also present.
Secretary General IPC Ms Sitara Ayaz could not attend the event. Her staff Mr. Naeem Murtaza shared her message to the participants of the dialogue.
Amb Hamid Asghar Khan mentioned Pharmaceutical, ITC, Textile and Ready Made Garments as some major sectors to give boost to existing trade.
He specially noted Water as the most important topic to work upon referring the recent floods in Nepal that swept away more than one thousand people in few minutes. He said, water management, division and pricing is big issue between the countries of upstream and downstream. Therefore , Pakistan Africa can see this sector as well, as a common topic.
Hamid noted connectivity as prerequisit for trade and stressed the need to bridge the gaps and for that he recommended high level visits of government dignitaries to the continent of today that consists of 52 countries.
He stressed that business was the lifeline of sustainable development and called for a shift from broad sectoral discussions to specific, bankable projects, including cable factories, pharmaceutical plants, university campuses, textile units and agricultural ventures. While governments had an important role in creating an enabling environment, he said Pakistan–Africa economic engagement must ultimately be driven by businesses, investors, entrepreneurs and professionals to build sustainable and mutually beneficial partnerships.
The speakers were unanimous that first the perception of Pakistanis should be made clear and correct about Africa. They said , seeing is beleiving and for that bilateral exchange of business community representatives may prove beneficial for both sides.
Amb Hamid Asghar Khan shared that a photo exhibition will soon be held in Islamabad about the beautiful landscape of Kenya. He said a group of profashional photographers has been sent to Kenya for that purpose.
Aliya Agha said Pakistan–Africa relations should place equal emphasis on bringing people closer through tourism, education, entrepreneurship, art and cultural exchange. She highlighted the potential for stronger connections among students, businesses and cultural communities, while observing that gaps in information and connectivity continued to shape perceptions on both sides. She also introduced the DICE Forum as a policy and development platform advancing diplomacy, inclusion, climate action and education through dialogue, partnerships and community-led initiatives.
H.E Munsoo Kurrimbaccus shared the status of Mauritius Pakistan cooperation and said , ” Mauritius has emotional relation with Pakistan and we are keen to enhance trade and investment cooperation with Pakistan but we also need to see that no high level Pakistani delegation has visited out country in 18 years.”
He mentioned Indian medicine and cosmetics arrive in our country sooner than Pakistan. We want to buy it from Pakistan but the delays make it very hard. He shared that Mauritius Pakistan have 33 MoUs pending for last many years and no one has been upgraded to agreement so far.
Here it is pertinent to not a very important matter that Pakistan is not the member of The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) that is for regional cooperation. India is member and this year Chair of this organization. That is the reason of enhancing Indian trade with the member states in this ocean.
( The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), formerly known as the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), is an international organization of 23 member states bordering the Indian Ocean that promotes economic cooperation and sustainable development. Founded: March 7, 1997, in Mauritius (following an initiative launched in March 1995 inspired by Nelson Mandela).Headquarters: Ebène, Mauritius.Nature: A regional, tripartite forum bringing together representatives from Government, Business, and Academia.Current Chair: India (2025–2027).Membership: 23 member states and 12 dialogue partners.)
DHM Egypt Aly Ashmawy briefed the participants about easy business doing and friendly investment policies of his country.
He said, people are heading towards Africa from the traditional markets of the world. Egypt has Suez connecting Mediterranean with Indian Ocean through Red Sea where 06 ports of Egypt open the gates to Africa.
He informed that Egypt and Pakistan are working on connecting Gwadar with Suez Canal Economic Zone . He said, Egypt welcomes all for investments and joint ventures.
Pakistan’s Gwadar Port with Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) is part of a proposed strategic economic corridor to boost trade and connectivity between South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Egypt has actively invited international and Pakistani business participation, welcoming joint ventures in logistics, manufacturing, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and digital services.
Strategic Corridor: Egyptian officials proposed connecting Gwadar Port—the key node of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)—with the SCZONE, which handles a substantial share of global maritime trade.
Port Free Zones: Pakistan has explored replicating elements of the Suez Canal Economic Zone framework and seeking Egyptian expertise to develop its own port-based free zones and direct shipping routes.
Participants discussed opportunities to strengthen educational and business linkages through joint ventures, cultural exchanges, youth engagement and cooperation on climate resilience. They emphasised the need to move beyond occasional interactions and develop sustained institutional, economic and people-to-people connections between Pakistan and African countries.
Perspective of H.E. Mohamed Karmoune, Ambassador of Morocco
H.E. Mohamed Karmoune, Ambassador of Morocco, identified education, business engagement and stronger diplomatic presence as three important avenues for deepening Pakistan–Africa relations.
On education, Ambassador Karmoune proposed developing direct partnerships and joint ventures between Pakistani universities and universities across African countries. He described education as a promising area for long-term cooperation and emphasised the value of institution-to-institution relationships that could create sustained academic and people-to-people connections.
On economic engagement, he encouraged Pakistan’s Federation and Chambers of Commerce to adopt a more proactive approach towards African markets. With 54 countries across the continent, he noted that Africa offers considerable commercial potential and argued that Pakistani businesses should position themselves more actively to explore these opportunities. He also recalled Pakistan’s historical support for African countries during their independence movements in the 1950s and 1960s, suggesting that this reservoir of goodwill provides a valuable foundation upon which contemporary economic relationships can be strengthened.
Ambassador Karmoune further highlighted the importance of diplomatic presence in enabling economic and institutional engagement. Noting that Pakistan currently maintains missions in only part of the African continent, he encouraged greater diplomatic representation. Where individual missions are responsible for several countries, he observed, limitations of time and geographical coverage can result in opportunities being missed.
Key Proposals
* Develop university-to-university partnerships and joint initiatives between Pakistan and African countries.
* Encourage Pakistani chambers of commerce and business associations to engage more proactively with African markets.
* Convert Pakistan’s historical goodwill with African countries into contemporary educational and economic partnerships.
* Strengthen Pakistan’s diplomatic footprint across Africa to facilitate relationships and identify opportunities more effectively.
* Approach Africa not as a single market but as 54 countries offering diverse opportunities for engagement and partnership.
His intervention reinforced an important theme of the Roundtable: existing diplomatic goodwill must be supported by stronger institutional connections if it is to translate into practical opportunities in education, trade and investment.
(Note from Editor : All speakers can share the drafts of their addresses at the roundtable. We will publish them here with full content)
