Pakistan’s ambassador designate to Saudi Arabia calls on President

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s ambassador designate to Saudi Arabia, Ishtiaq Hussain Andrabi called on President Asif Ali Zardari here at the Aiwan-i-Sadr on Wednesday and discussed matters relating to his new assignment. The President while felicitating the newly appointed envoy to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia urged him to concentrate on further promoting political, economic, trade and commercial ties between the two countries and protecting the interests of expatriate Pakistanis working in the Kingdom.The President asked the ambassador designate to give special attention to the Pakistani community who he said were our goodwill ambassadors, worked hard and served as the public face of a hardworking Pakistani nation.He asked the ambassador to address the issues of Pakistani expatriates on priority basis and encourage them to send home remittances through official channels.The President said that he had already advised the relevant ministries to offer special incentives to encourage remittances through banking channels and asked the ambassador to pursue it vigorously.The President emphasized on economic diplomacy to be followed by all diplomats for furthering economic interests of the country and urged for encouraging the business community in countries of their posting to avail the investment opportunities and benefit from the investment friendly policies of the Government of Pakistan.Ishtiaq Hussain Andrabi thanked the President for the confidence reposed in him and assured that he would utilize all his capabilities to boost Pakistan’s bilateral ties with Saudi Arabia – APP