Pakistan on Tuesday stepped up its efforts to drum up support for its bid to become a member of NSG, with its top diplomat dialling foreign ministers of Austria and Turkey.
Pakistan on Tuesday stepped up its efforts to drum up support for its bid to become a member of NSG, with its top diplomat dialling foreign ministers of Austria and Turkey.
Foreign office said that Pakistan was continuing with diplomatic efforts to muster support for its candidacy of the 48-members elite grouping.
The Prime Minister’s adviser on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz on Tuesday made telephone calls to foreign minister of Austria Sebastian Kurz and Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
“The adviser underscored Pakistan’s credentials for NSG membership and emphasised the importance of non-discriminatory approach on NSG expansion to non-NPT states,” it said.
Pakistan increased efforts to garner diplomatic support after US President Barack Obama endorsed Indian bid for NSG membership.
Mr Aziz has already said Pakistan was sure to get membership on merit if the gates of NSG were opened for India. He had earlier spoke over telephone with the Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on the issue.
[Mr Aziz has also said that the growing US-India ties were threatening balance of power in the region.
He also talked of a “major realignment in Pakistan’s policy” in the context of the strategic shift in American attitude.
He termed relations with China and the initiation of China-Pakistan Economic Corri-dor as the biggest achievement of Pakistan’s foreign policy since it would promote Asia, Central Asia and the entire region.
Speaking at the joint meeting of the Senate Standing Committees on defence and foreign affairs here Monday night, he said the new policy was not about accepting American pressure on a particular policy but the issue was that Pakistan faced choices in keeping interest with its national priorities and Pakistan made choices that were in its national interest but which might not necessarily be congruent with US interest, reports our Pakistan corrspondent.
He recently spoke with Italian foreign minister Paolo Gentilioni, New Zealand foreign minister Murray McCully and foreign minister of Republic of Korea Yun Byung-se to seek their support for the membership.
