ISLAMABAD ( WNAM MONITORING): Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday called for the international community to work collectively for “lasting peace” in the Middle East as Islamabad continues to position itself as a mediator in regional diplomacy, during talks with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in Islamabad.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office and posted on its official X account, Sharif told Kallas that Pakistan appreciated the EU’s support for peace efforts in the Gulf and highlighted the role being played by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir in advancing those efforts.
“He laid special emphasis on the need for the international community, including the EU, to work collectively to ensure lasting peace in the region,” the statement said.
The meeting came after the eighth round of the EU-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue and focused on expanding cooperation in trade, investment, climate change, security, migration, sustainable development and connectivity. Sharif also underscored the importance of the EU’s GSP+ trade scheme in strengthening economic ties.
Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and vice-president of the European Commission, praised Pakistan’s contribution to regional stability and said Brussels was keen to deepen strategic engagement with Islamabad.
“Pakistan is a major regional power and an important partner for the EU,” she was quoted as saying in the Prime Minister’s Office statement.
In an interview with Pakistani broadcaster Geo TV during her visit, Kallas also commended Islamabad’s diplomatic efforts, saying Pakistan had played an important role in facilitating contacts between the United States and Iran and remained a key interlocutor on regional security issues.
In a post on US social media company X, Kallas said she had held talks with Sharif and Dar on strengthening EU-Pakistan relations and had also met Asim Munir at the army headquarters in Rawalpindi.
“I commended Pakistan for its key role in facilitating US-Iran talks,” she wrote, adding that the EU remains Pakistan’s largest export destination while Pakistan is the world’s leading beneficiary of the bloc’s GSP+ trade preferences.
Pakistan’s diplomatic profile has risen in recent months amid efforts to facilitate dialogue between Washington and Tehran and support broader de-escalation initiatives in the Gulf, with Islamabad seeking to leverage its ties across the region to promote negotiations and reduce tensions.
