- Premier Shehbaz lauds EU ambassador on successful completion of tenure, thanking her for strengthening of Pak-EU ties
- Appreciates Kionka’s efforts in ensuring significant support from EU during 2022 floods in Pakistan
- Ambassador Riina Kionka reiterates EU’s commitment to strengthening cooperation with Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday, underscoring the significance of the European Union as one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the GSP Plus scheme, which had proved to be mutually beneficial for both sides.
The prime minister was talking with European Union Ambassador to Pakistan Riina Kionka who paid a farewell call on him at the Prime Minister’s House.
While congratulating the ambassador on the successful completion of her tenure in Pakistan, the prime minister thanked her for making important contributions towards the strengthening of Pakistan-EU relations.
Ambassador of the European Union (EU), Riina Kionka, paid a farewell call on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.
Important issues between Pakistan and the EU, including domestic political developments, came under discussion.
While congratulating the Ambassador on the… pic.twitter.com/7MOJE8i2F5
— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) July 25, 2025
He particularly appreciated the ambassador’s efforts in ensuring significant support from the EU during the 2022 floods in Pakistan.
He also conveyed his good wishes for EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and said that he looked forward to meeting her at a convenient opportunity in the coming days.
During the meeting, they also discussed the important issues between Pakistan and the EU, including domestic political developments.
Ambassador Riina Kionka thanked the prime minister for all the support she had received during her stay in Pakistan and reiterated the EU’s commitment to strengthening its cooperation with Pakistan.
Expressing gratitude for the prime minister’s good wishes, the ambassador said that she would continue to promote stronger Pakistan-EU relations in her next assignment in Brussels.
PM reviews progress of PPPA on appointment of technical experts
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday chaired a high-level review meeting to assess progress on the appointment of technical experts across federal ministries and departments and to discuss measures for enhancing foreign investment.
The Public-Private Partnership Authority (PPPA) presented a detailed briefing on current initiatives and future plans aimed at streamlining expert appointments and increasing investor confidence.
The prime minister, highlighting institutional reforms in the federal government as a top priority, said “We are fully committed to implementing our agenda of economic digitization, rightsizing public institutions, and ensuring merit-based appointments of experts in government departments.”
He also stressed that there will be no compromise on merit and transparency in the appointment of experts.
During the briefing, the meeting was informed that so far, appointments had been made on 15 technical expert positions, whereas the appointment process was underway for 47 additional technical positions.
“Some 30 candidates have been shortlisted for the appointment of chief executive officers, chief financial officers, and managing directors in 7 key ministries and departments,” the prime minister was informed.
He was further told that initial rounds of interviews for appointments in the Petroleum Division and National Vocational and Technical Training Commission had been completed.
Federal ministries have designated focal teams to formulate strategies for investment, and sectoral roadmaps for investment have also been prepared for information technology & telecom, railways, and tourism.
Sectoral frameworks related to investment in food security, maritime affairs, minerals, tourism, industry, housing, and energy are in their final stages.
The prime minister was further informed that pitchbooks for 18 economic sectors had been prepared to allocate projects for investment from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan, Qatar, and Kuwait.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar, Prime Minister’s Advisor on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar, and other senior government officials.
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