By IANS,
Islamabad : Pakistan’s missions abroad need to concentrate more on “economic diplomacy” in developing country-to-country relationship, particularly with the neighbours, new Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said Saturday.
Pakistan being a developing country has to work more aggressively in deepening economic ties with its friendly countries, he said.
Bashir, who served as ambassador to China, assumed his new responsibilities Saturday replacing Riaz Mohammad Khan.
“The present government has already set up a task force to suggest ways and means for strengthening economic diplomacy, aimed at making the foreign policy different from the past where it was focussed on the geopolitical situation alone,” he was quoted as saying by the state-run APP news agency.
On his arrival from Beijing, Bashir said: “I feel it my great honour to return home in the capacity of foreign secretary.”
Pakistan’s foreign policy should be geared more towards the economic uplift of the people, according to him.
“I truly feel that foreign service and the foreign missions abroad are great national assets as they have the potential to meet national aspirations.”