FM Qureshi launches Vision F.O. to ensure effective foreign policy

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has launched Vision F.O. to ensure a vibrant and effective foreign policy to protect political and economic interest of Pakistan.

Addressing the launching ceremony in Islamabad on Friday, he said that the launch of new website of the Foreign Office will help enhance accessibility and it will be more informative for the visitors. He said it will be followed by another launch of APP “FM Direct”, which will connect officers of the Foreign Service to the Foreign Minister and the Foreign Office directly from any part of the world. He said FM Direct will create an environment of meritocracy in the Foreign Office.

Qureshi said that Foreign Office has enlisted a secure and active video conferencing facility to connect with the key capitals of the world to get first hand and prompt knowledge of the developments taking place across the world.

He said we are going to restructuring, redesigning, and relocating Foreign Service Academy to provide state of the art training facilities to Pakistani as well as diplomats from across the region.

The Minister stressed the need for optimum utilization of available tools and facilities in a more scientific way to upgrade foreign policy of the country. He said we are also going to launch FM Connect to engage with different stakeholders, including think-tanks, academia, and media persons for an effective foreign policy formulation.

He said we are going to engage with seasoned, experienced, and retired diplomats under Foreign Minister Advisory Council to relate current challenges with their past experiments.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi said economic diplomacy has a vital role in attracting investments, enhancing country’s trade and exports with foreign countries. For this purpose, we organized a two-day envoy’s conference titled Engage Africa and the next conference has been scheduled in Nairobi to promote political and economic interests of Pakistan. He said the diplomatic corps should look into the Memorandums of Understanding and other agreements, Pakistan has signed with various countries, and devise a policy how they can be used for improving lives of common people.

Highlighting importance and contributions of Pakistani expatriates, the Minister said our envoys need to tap the huge potential of Pakistani diaspora living in European and other countries.