Vanackere hopes to strengthen EU ties with Pakistan
In a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs Steven Vanackere assured his colleague that Pakistan will remain high on the European agenda. "It is the intention of the European Union not only to respond to immediate needs, but also to develop a strategic approach to the situation in Pakistan", Vanackere said.
Since early August Pakistan is faced with a huge humanitarian disaster. Torrential monsoon rains triggered floods in large parts of the country and affected tens of millions in the stricken areas – leaving many dead, suffering from disease or displaced.
In the past month the European Union has already made efforts to free up 230 million euros for the heavily afflicted country. So far the Belgian government has donated approximately 6 million euros in humanitarian aid and, as minister Vanackere declared, “This does not preclude Belgium from providing further support.”
Likewise, private donations are extremely important in providing Pakistan with the emergency aid the country needs.
Hence Vanackere emphasises the importance of public opinion: the general public's attention must not wane and within international organisations such as the UN it is also important to ensure that Pakistan is kept high on the agenda.
"However", Vanackere said, as a representative of the Belgian Presidency, "the European Union intends to be more than an emergency aid donor."
Because with catastrophes of this magnitude ‘aftercare’ is at least as important as emergency aid, the European Union intends to develop a structural and constructive strategy to strengthen the trade relations between the Union and Pakistan.
In other words the EU not only wants to lend Pakistan a helping hand, they also want to examine how they can further develop our long-term commercial ties.
