VIENNA: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said Pakistan was collaborating with European partners to “jointly ban” illegal immigration.
The remarks were made while he addressed the Pakistan-Austria Business Forum during his two-day official visit to Vienna, which began a day earlier.
Speaking at the forum, PM Shehbaz said Pakistan was “absolutely” against illegal immigration and assured that the government was “working with our European friends Austria, France, and Germany to jointly ban this illegal immigration [and bring it] to a grinding halt”.
He also stated that Pakistan would meet Austria’s “demand for skilled labour” in accordance with internationally recognised certification standards.
At the start of his address, the prime minister highlighted that Pakistan and Austria enjoyed “long-standing friendly relations”. He pointed to key areas of cooperation where both countries were “proactively engaged”, including mining and minerals as well as renewable energy.
The premier said he had held meetings with Austrian leadership and intended “to take many of these discussions to their logical conclusion”. He further noted that 60 per cent of Pakistan’s population was young and “needed modern training in their hands, including laptops, AI, and IT-led initiatives”.
PM Shehbaz added that Pakistan possessed “huge potential” in agriculture, saying Austria could play an important role by sharing expertise and modern technology to enhance value addition.
“Here, Austria can be a great partner, providing Pakistan with experience and modern technology to have value-addition in the field of citrus root, and make marmalade, juices and export them to Austria, the Middle East and other parts of the world”, the premier added.
