Pakistani Ambassador-Designate Pays Introductory Call on Secretary Locsin

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. (left) and Pakistan Ambassador-designate Imtiaz Ahmad Kazi (right) discuss areas for further cooperation between the Philippines and Pakistan during the call. (Photo by DFA-OSCR Charlyn Lau)

PASAY CITY 28 NOVEMBER 2020 — Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. welcomed by video call Pakistan’s Ambassador-designate Imtiaz Ahmad Kazi on 27 November 2020. The new envoy arrived in Manila in early November.

Secretary Locsin recalled the close friendship between the Philippines and Pakistan since the inauguration of diplomatic ties in 1949 and hoped for greater cooperation in the areas of defense, trade and investment, non-traditional security concerns and in common causes in international organizations and multilateral bodies.

Both sides also confirmed solidarity and cooperation amidst the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, including mutual assistance in the repatriation of respective nationals. In July this year, around 50 Pakistani nationals stranded in the Philippines were accommodated on a flight chartered by the Philippine government for the purpose of bringing home Filipino nationals from Pakistan. Meanwhile, an estimated 194 Filipinos have been repatriated from Pakistan since the start of the pandemic. END