Pakistan’s foreign minister to conclude visit to Germany
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will conclude an official visit to Berlin today.
Qureshi has prioritized Germany as Pakistan’s largest trading partner in the EU, marking the first visit to Berlin by his post since 2012. Topics of discussion included matters of regional security in South Asia as well as growing economic and trade relations in the sectors of alternative energy and information technology. Nevertheless, Pakistan’s borrowing has slowed its economic growth, with IMF debt requirements amounting to $27 billion through next year.
Expect Berlin to encourage German investment into joint-business ventures between the two countries focusing on projects in line with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The German ambassador to Pakistan urged investors to focus on alternative energy–specifically hydropower–which may inflame ongoing disputes with neighboring India over water usage. As financial security in Pakistan has ameliorated in the past two years, foreign direct investment is likely to flow into the country at higher rates, potentially reducing its heavy dependence on loans from China and the US. If Pakistan is unable to wean itself off of support from other nations, Islamabad is likely to increase taxes past a planned 1.1% hike in June.
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