UN chief Guterres to visit Pakistan before term ends: Dar
UN chief Guterres to visit Pakistan before term ends: Dar
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has accepted an invitation for a Guterres Pakistan visit before his term ends on December 31, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Friday.
Dar made the announcement while briefing the media in Islamabad on Pakistan’s engagements during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. He said the invitation was extended during a delegation-level meeting with the UN secretary-general, whom he described as “a very big supporter of Pakistan,” whose role during natural calamities “can never be forgotten.”
“The programme (of his visit) will be released soon, and he expected the visit to be a memorable one,” Dar said.
The visit would carry symbolic weight. Guterres last travelled to Pakistan in September 2022, when he toured flood-hit areas of Sindh and Balochistan and called on the world to step up support for the country. A return trip before he leaves office on December 31 would close out a tenure in which he repeatedly spoke up for climate-hit developing countries.
Guterres Pakistan visit follows hectic UNGA week
Dar described the New York trip as a gruelling week of engagements, saying he had attended 28 bilateral meetings during the high-level week of the session. Pakistan, he said, concluded two memorandums on bilateral political consultations with two countries and signed a visa abolition agreement with one of them.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s General Assembly address reiterated Pakistan’s positions on Palestine and Kashmir and raised the issue of the Indus Waters Treaty, Dar said. The prime minister also highlighted Pakistan’s role in US-Iran peacemaking, crediting Field Marshal Asim Munir and the Foreign Office, and flagged the energy and supply-chain fallout from disruption in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.
UN resolution win for Pakistan
Dar said one of Pakistan’s notable achievements at the session was a Pakistani-sponsored resolution on multilateralism and peaceful dispute resolution that was unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council after 12 years. Pakistan also chaired a meeting focused on strengthening cooperation between the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the United Nations.
On the economic front, Dar said the Pakistani delegation met the presidents of the European Commission and the European Council to discuss trade, investment and economic ties, including the next phase of the European Union’s GSP Plus framework. The delegation also engaged with international business leaders and the Pakistani-American business community to explore investment opportunities.
Makkah defence pact meeting in Riyadh
Dar also said the most consequential announcement from the trip concerned the Strategic Political Defence Committee, the apex body of the Makkah defence agreement signed on August 7 by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye. Its first meeting was held in Istanbul on August 31, while the three foreign ministers met in New York on September 24 and the three army chiefs met in Riyadh the following day.
The full committee will meet in Riyadh next week to assess the ground situation, especially for Saudi Arabia, where Houthi attacks have intensified, Dar said. He said some 17 attacks were reported around September 21-22.
When will UN chief Antonio Guterres visit Pakistan?
The visit is expected before Guterres’s term ends on December 31. Ishaq Dar said the programme of the visit would be released soon.
Why did Dar call Guterres a big supporter of Pakistan?
Dar pointed to the UN chief’s role during Pakistan’s natural calamities, including his 2022 visit to flood-hit areas, which he said “can never be forgotten.”
What did Pakistan achieve at the 81st UN General Assembly?
A Pakistani-sponsored resolution on multilateralism and peaceful dispute resolution was unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council after 12 years, and Pakistan chaired a meeting on OIC-UN cooperation. Dar also attended 28 bilateral meetings and signed political consultation memorandums with two countries.
