The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan, issued a joint press communique of the seventh round of the Pakistan-European Union (EU) Strategic Dialogue on November 21 in Brussels, Belgium.
According to the communique, Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) Kaja Kallas, co-chaired the meeting.
On this occasion, the bilateral relations between the EU and Pakistan were discussed with special regard to reviewing cooperation in the framework of the EU-Pakistan Strategic Engagement Plan (SEP) from 2019.
“Both sides agreed to further deepen cooperation in all areas covered under the SEP with the objective of aligning overall strategic outlook.”
Both sides also reaffirmed the importance of sustained cooperation across multiple areas, including trade, migration, human rights, political, economic and development areas under the EU’s Global Gateway strategy..
“They agreed to further deepen knowledge partnerships through Erasmus Mundus and Horizon Europe and to work together on emerging challenges related to food and energy security and climate change,” said the communique.
The EU and Pakistan reiterated the importance of continued collaboration to promote sustainable growth and trade development.
“In this regard, the leaders expressed a strong political commitment towards the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP+), which remains one of the key elements of EU-Pakistan relations.”
It further says that, “During their discussion, High Representative Kallas and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar re-confirmed the commitment of both Pakistan and the European Union to multilateralism, principles of the UN Charter, the rules-based international order, peace, stability and prosperity, grounded in shared values and common interests.”
Both sides stressed the need to find peaceful solutions to conflicts, in full respect of the principles of international law and the UN Charter.
“They discussed the situation in the Middle East and welcomed the agreement reached on the first phase of the Comprehensive Plan to end the Gaza Conflict put forward by President Trump. They reiterated the importance of ensuring that all parties adhere to the ceasefire, implement all phases, and refrain from any actions that jeopardise the agreement and recalled the importance of Gaza’s stabilisation, transitional governance, recovery and reconstruction, as well as unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza.”
The communique further stated that, “they also underscored their support for concrete steps towards the two-state solution in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions.”
The ministers also discussed Pakistan-Afghanistan relations amid October 2025 cross-border tensions, “reaffirming their commitment to regional peace, stability, prosperity and resolving issues through dialogue between neighbours.”
“The two sides called on Afghanistan’s de facto Authorities to play a constructive role in achieving the shared objective of rooting out terrorism from Afghan soil.”
Both leaders also expressed concern over Afghanistan’s deteriorating socio-economic conditions. They supported a peaceful, stable and self-reliant Afghanistan, contributing to regional stability, advocating for a credible political process aligned with the UN-led “Doha process,” and in line with the commitments made by the Taliban de facto Authorities to the international community.
They appreciated Pakistan for hosting millions of Afghan nationals for over four decades. The EU side emphasised that any return must be safe, dignified and in line with international standards. Both sides called upon the Afghan authorities to ensure protection of human rights, especially for women, girls and vulnerable communities.
At the end of the talks, both sides agreed to convene the 8th Round of the Strategic Dialogue in Islamabad.
