ISLAMABAD: German Federal Minister of Cooperation, Svenja Schulze is currently paying a visit to Pakistan with an objective to strengthen bilateral economic ties.
According to a press release issued by the German Embassy on Thursday, Venja Schulze during the visit held important meetings with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Ministers for Economic Affairs and Commerce.
The German Minister is visiting Pakistan upon the invitation of her counterpart, Minister Ahad Khan Cheema. Yesterday she met with the Minister of Economic Affairs as well as with Minister of Commerce, Jam Kamal Khan.
After the meeting, Minister Schulze and Minister Kamal Khan saw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the establishment of a Responsible Business Helpdesk (RBH) between the German development agency GIZ and the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI).
In the evening, she met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and discussed bilateral ties and economic cooperation. The meeting was followed by a dinner hosted by the Prime Minister.
In addition, she met with Pakistani employers and trade union representatives. She also paid a visit to the factory of Kohinoor Textile Mills Ltd. in Rawalpindi and took an interest in the support for upscaling working conditions, productivity and competitiveness.
Since the beginning of German-Pakistani economic cooperation in 1961, Germany has contributed around 3.7 billion euros to the development of Pakistan. In 2023 alone, Germany committed more than 50 crore PKR for economic cooperation with Pakistan. German-Pakistani cooperation covers a wide range of areas such as developing professional training capacities, promoting renewable energies, supporting small and medium enterprises and adapting to the consequences of climate change.
Today the Federal Minister visited Lahore where she met with the Chief Minister of Punjab, Mariam Nawaz Sharif, and visited two more factories. The Federal Minister and her delegation will fly back to Germany on Friday 23 August.
