Pakistan should make use of its longstanding relations with West African countries and practice effective economic diplomacy to elevate these ties to new scales.

The need was urged in a webinar titled ‘Pakistan’s relations with West African countries’, which was held by IPS on March 3, 2021 to explore opportunities and underline challenges for Pakistan vis-à-vis West African countries. The session, which was a part of IPS’ ‘Understanding Africa Program’, was addressed as keynote speaker by Ambassador (r) Haroon Shaukat.

Reflecting on the long history of bilateral relationship between Pakistan and West Africa, the former ambassador opined that Pakistan’s longtime engagement with Africa is marked by warmth, cordiality, mutual trust & understanding. He further stated Pakistan had supported freedom movements in Algeria, Kenya, Sudan, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Morocco, Libya, Egypt & Nigeria both morally and materially. This support has earned Pakistan a lot of goodwill in the African continent.

Shaukat also brought into light Pakistan’s growing military ties with some African countries. He mentioned that Pakistani armed forces have played an important role in satiating defence needs of the African region as highlighted from the fact that Nigeria has bought Super Mushshak Aircraft and JF-17 Thunder Jet from Pakistan. Institutional engagement with the African Union (AU) has also earned Pakistan $4.18 billion during 2019-20, he shared.

The speaker accentuated the need for Pakistan to have a strong diplomatic presence in Africa, without which the country cannot expect any big development in bilateral relations with the African states. He believed economic diplomacy must be the priority of Pakistan’s foreign policy vis-à-vis West African countries, having special focus on domestic production and promotion of exports, trade & investment.