LONDON, JUL 29 /DNA/ – Chairman Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani has said that Pakistan greatly values its bilateral relations with United Kingdom (UK) and desires to further expand the bilateral relations to new levels for mutual benefit. The Chairman Senate expressed these views in a meeting with Speaker of the House of Commons H. E. Lindsay Hoyle during his visit to the UK. The Chairman Senate, along with a delegation of Senators, is visiting UK to explore opportunities for further strengthening bilateral, multilateral and institutional cooperation in diverse sectors.

Chairman Senate was accompanied by Senators Agha Shahzeb Durrani, Mr. Faisal Salim Rehman, Mr. Ashraf Ali Jatoi and Members of the National Assembly, Syed Abdul Qadir Gilani and Syed Qasim Ali Gilani.

During the meeting, in his opening remarks the Chairman Senate highlighted the historical and cultural ties that both sides have enjoyed since long and said that the historical bond between the two has paved the way for deepening political, diplomatic, economic ties and people to people contacts. He further observed that these ties were further strengthened by Pakistani diaspora, which was acting as a bridge between Pakistan and UK, thus providing solid foundation for a dynamic and prosperous partnership. He said that our historic legacy, shared values and mutual goodwill were the ingredients for a strong partnership between Pakistan and UK. The Chairman Senate also acknowledged the significance of broad based parliamentary cooperation and said that Pakistan attached great importance to parliamentary diplomacy. He said that sharing democratic experiences and learning democratic values was central to Commonwealth, as a family of nations. Both Pakistan and UK enjoy excellent cooperation at Commonwealth level and Pakistan was playing an active role on this important platform. “As the representatives and voices of our people I believe we have a singular responsibility in acting as bridges between our peoples and institutions of governance”, Chairman Senate observed.

The meeting also discussed Enhanced Strategic Dialogue between Pakistan and United Kingdom, which was established in 2011. The Enhanced Strategic Dialogue serves as the institutional mechanism guiding Pakistan -UK bilateral relations. It is pertinent to mention that ESD was initiated in 2011 during the tenure of Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. The meeting discussed that Enhance Strategic Dialogue may be converted into Enhanced strategic partnership.
The Chairman Senate also highlighted the issue of Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir. He said that Pakistan valued British MPs role in highlighting human right abuses in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, in the UK Parliament.

Regarding Gaza, The Senate Chairman said that Pakistan was making all possible efforts through the relevant forums to bring an end to atrocities in Gaza. He also called upon UK to raise its voice against the human rights violations. During the meeting, the Chairman Senate said that interaction and exchange of views between the parliamentary leadership and the parliamentarians was a significant step towards broadening, deepening, diversifying and augmenting inter parliamentary relations. He proposed to maintain the momentum of high level visits, and exchange more frequently between the two government, parliaments and peoples.

Speaker of the House Commons appreciated Chairman Senate’s remarks and called for a broad-based relationship between the two sides. He said that Pakistan was an important country for UK and both sides have historically enjoyed cordial relations.

Senators, including Senator Faisal Salim Rehman , Agha Shahzeb Durrani and Senator Ashraf Ali Jatoi also held a separate meeting with Secretary General CPA Mr. Stephen Twigg and exchanged views to enhance institutional cooperation between secretariats of the Senate and CPA. They appreciated the collaboration between Senate and CPA. The meeting also focussed on discussions and debates on issues concerning CPA member states.