Islamabad, January 28, 2016: The Deputy Speaker, National Assembly Murtaza Javed Abbasi has said that Pakistan and Sweden could cultivate bilateral relations through enhanced parliamentary exchanges and collaborations in education and economic sectors.  He was talking to Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden, Tomas Rosander who called on him at Parliament House today.

The Deputy Speaker underscored the need for regular interaction between political leadership, parliamentarians and business communities of both the countries that would provide the opportunity to share views and learn from each other’s experiences.  He said that an active Pak-Sweden Friendship Group has been established in the National Assembly which was working in expanding interactions between legislators to strengthen the relations.

The Deputy Speaker said that revival of economy through investment favorable policies and enhancing trade with other countries are the top most priorities of the government.  He said that Pakistan has lot of potential for investment in power generation, telecommunication, trade and manufacturing sectors and asked the Swedish ambassador to energize the business community of Sweden to invest in these sectors.  He also commended the consistent support of Sweden to Pakistan’s quest for GSP Plus status  and  significant contributions of Swedish companies operating in Pakistan’s economy.

The Deputy Speaker said that Pakistan was fighting against extremism and terrorism since last two decades which badly affected its economy besides claiming lives of more than 7000 people including personnel of law enforcing agencies. He said that Pakistan was a peaceful country and only few areas of the country had been facing militancy, however, the western media negatively portray image of Pakistan.  He asked the Ambassador to play his role to highlight the soft image of Pakistan in Sweden through positive portrayal in media.

Reciprocating good gesture of the Deputy Speaker, Ambassador Mr. Tomas Rosander said that Sweden also considers Pakistan its close friend and economic partner. He said that huge economic potential exists in both the countries which needed to be grabbed for mutual benefit. He appreciated Pakistan’s sacrifices in fight against terrorism and assured full cooperation from Sweden to deal with crisis confronting its progress and prosperity. He agreed for enhancing parliamentary ties between both the parliaments to strengthen the bilateral relations.