Foreign Minister of Indonesia Meets with Pakistani Counterpart and Women MPs

Islamabad: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi met the Foreign Minister of Indonesia, ms. Retno Marsudi, in Islamabad today on the eve of the 17th extraordinary session of the council of foreign ministers of the organization of Islamic cooperation (OIC).

The two Foreign Ministers took stock of the wide-ranging bilateral relations and agreed on the importance of frequent high-level exchange of visits with a view to further strengthening of mutually beneficial cooperation in all spheres. Foreign Minister Qureshi noted the common desire to elevate the relationship to strategic partnership.

The Foreign Minister shared Pakistan’s perspective on the situation in Afghanistan. He highlighted the importance of sustained engagement to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan and to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of the Afghan people. The two Foreign Ministers discussed the role of the OIC towards meeting those objectives.

They also exchanged views on how, as the two largest democracies of the Islamic world, Indonesia and Pakistan can work together for constructive outreach with Afghanistan, including through the Ulema, and Women Parliamentarians, for dialogue on Islamic values of tolerance, moderation and human rights including women rights. The meeting was also joined by eight prominent women Parliamentarians of Pakistan.

The two Foreign Ministers agreed to keep in close contact for promotion of shared objectives in bilateral and multilateral domains.

The meeting was later joined by 8 women parliamentarians of Pakistan (members of the national assembly and senate), including ms. Andleeb Abbas, ms. Maleeka Ali Bokhari, ms Kanwal Shauzab, ms. Seemee Ezdi, ms. Tashfeensafdar, ms. Syma Nadeem, ms. Aliya hamza malik and dr. Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur, to interact with the Indonesian foreign minister.

Views were exchanged on women empowerment and promotion of equal opportunities, especially in the context of democratic and Islamic character of both Indonesia and Pakistan.

The meeting discussed the great scope for cooperation between the women MPs from both sides to share best legislative practices, enhance mutual contacts and further parliamentary engagement in the areas of health, education and sports, among others.

The participants expressed solidarity with the people of Afghanistan, in particular women and girls, and discussed ways to reach out to them in these difficult times. In this regard, they agreed to explore the formation of a joint forum of women parliamentarians from Pakistan and Indonesia.

The two sides will pursue these initiatives through their respective focal points designated for this purpose.