ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday said that Pakistan and Netherlands enjoyed friendly and cordial relations, which needed extra endeavor to further strengthening it for mutual benefit of the people of both the countries as well as within the context of European Union.

The President was talking to outgoing Ambassador of Netherlands Ms Ardi Stoior-Braker, who called on him at the Awan-e-Sadr. The President congratulated the outgoing Ambassador on successful completion of her tenure in Pakistan and appreciated her efforts for enhancing the bilateral relations during her tenure.

The President emphasized that the bilateral trade between the two countries was not commensurate with its actual potential and need to be further enhanced.

In this context, Pakistan sees GSP Plus Scheme as a constructive engagement for the betterment of its economy, as it has advanced Government’s socio-economic agenda by enhancing Pakistan-EU trade, he added.

The President underscored the need to augment collaboration between universities of the two countries to exchange knowledge for the benefit of research community.

The President said that freedom of expression comes with responsibility under human rights laws and standards. He highlighted the need to enhance bilateral and international cooperation to check Islamophobia, counter incitement to racial and religious hatred and to build bridges among civilizations.

In this regard, he appreciated the Government of Netherlands for its efforts in discouraging racial and religious hatred.

The President said that the security situation of Pakistan has remarkably improved due to the tremendous sacrifices rendered by its armed forces, law enforcement agencies and people in the fight against terrorism under its National Action Plan (NAP).

The Ambassador thanked the government and people of Pakistan for her pleasant stay in Pakistan. She said that Netherlands was ready to cooperate with Pakistan in various fields including dairy, agriculture, water management, maritime sector and transfer of technology. She also lauded the sacrifices by the people of Pakistan in curbing the menace of terrorism in the country.

The President welcomed Netherlands for its keen interest to invest in various sectors of Pakistan’s economy.—INP