President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen made a telephone call to Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Friday and congratulated him on assuming office.

During the conversation, she underlined the European Commission’s desire to further strengthen the bilateral relationship with Pakistan, The Prime Minister’s Office said in a tweet.

The prime minister thanked for the felicitations and stated that Pakistan greatly values its relations with the European Union, which are based on shared values and common objectives of peace, prosperity and development.

The prime minister highlighted the importance of closer trade and investment ties between Pakistan and the European Commission.

He appreciated the GSP Plus arrangement and underlined that, being a mutually beneficial scheme, it has played an important role in expansion of Pakistan-EU trade.

The two leaders agreed to stay in contact and work together to expand Pakistan-EU relations, intensify investment and trade cooperation, and enhance mutual cooperation between the two sides in diverse fields.