–Qureshi says Dr Asad Majeed will replace Ali Jahangir Siddiqui as envoy to US, Nafees Zakaria to be appointed as high commissioner to UK

–FM says Pakistan has asked UAE for deferred payment facility for oil imports

ISLAMABAD: In a major diplomatic reshuffle, the government has decided to replace Pakistan’s current ambassadors in Washington and London among other key capitals of the world to do away with political appointments made by the previous government.

Addressing a news conference, flanked by Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi announced that Dr Asad Majeed Khan, a senior career diplomat is being considered to replace Ali Jahangir Siddiqui in the US capital.

Siddiqui’s appointment as Pakistan’s top diplomat in the US had become controversial as he is facing charges of embezzling Rs40 billion, insider trading and investing in foreign countries that costed billions of rupees to the shareholders. He is also accused of selling shares to government institutions on exorbitant prices that allegedly caused a loss of Rs 20 billion to the national exchequer.

Meanwhile, Qureshi announced that Nafees Zakaria, who has already served as deputy high commissioner in London and knows the dynamics, is likely to be appointed as Pakistan’s new high commissioner in the United Kingdom.

The foreign minister said Raja Ali Ijaz is being considered for the post of Pakistan’s new ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Raza Bashir Tarar for Ottawa, Canada, Syed Ahsan Raza Shah for Doha, Qatar, Hamid Asghar Khan for Rabat, Morocco, Sheharyar Akbar Khan for Belgrade, Serbia, Sahibzada Ahmed Khan for Havana, Cuba and Ahmed Amjad Ali as the new Consul General for Dubai.

Referring to the PTI government’s foreign policy, Qureshi said Pakistan is pursuing its policy with other countries based on mutual benefits and national interest.

“In a bid to make the country’s foreign policy stronger and more robust, it has been decided to appoint professional diplomats in key foreign capitals,” he added.

UAE ASKED FOR DEFERRED PAYMENT FACILITY FOR OIL IMPORTS:

Briefing reporters about a meeting between Prime Minister Imran Khan and a high-level delegation led by UAE Minister of State Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, Qureshi said that Pakistan has asked the UAE for a deferred payment facility for the import of oil, similar to the one agreed with Saudi Arabia earlier this week.

The foreign minister said the UAE delegation is visiting Pakistan under the aegis of UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed to discuss mutually beneficial projects which both countries can undertake.

“The delegation said bilateral relations between Pakistan and UAE are decades old, but there was a dip in the last 4-5 years,” FM Qureshi said. “In today’s meeting, we have discussed measures to expand the economic side of our longstanding bilateral ties,” he added.

He also said, “First, in the agriculture sector, we have discussed how we can increase exports to the UAE. We have an exportable surplus in rice which we used to export [to the country], but our exports have decreased considerably in the last few years.”

“In fruits, I discussed with them the export of citrus and mangoes. We have both in abundance and there is a demand in UAE too. Due to our proximity, we can easily export these despite them being perishable items. UAE has an effective way of processing and packaging food, so we have decided to benefit from their expertise,” he said.

The foreign minister further said that the matter regarding setting up a state-of-the-art LNG terminal in Pakistan with UAE’s cooperation was also discussed during the meeting. The Emirati delegation has expressed interest in setting up an LNG terminal in Pakistan, he added.

FM Qureshi said that a member of Emirati real estate company Emaar was also part of the delegation. “We told them that the government was planning to build five million houses and asked if they could be of any help in this regard,” he said.

“Another issue which we are facing these days is that of water shortage. UAE holds expertise in water desalination and if they could invest in setting up a plant in Karachi or Gwadar, our water crisis will be resolved and it will be a massive development,” the foreign minister added.

Earlier, a high-level UAE delegation comprising CEOs/senior officials of major companies, including Mubadala Petroleum, ADIA (Sovereign Wealth Funds), Etisalat, DP World, Dubai Investment Authority, Emaar Company, Al Dahra Agriculture and Abu Dhabi Fund for Development called on FM Qureshi. The delegation, headed by Minister of State and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) CEO Dr Sultan Aljaber, arrived here on a special invitation of the foreign minister.