Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi here on Saturday met the Foreign Minister of Indonesia Retno Marsudi on the eve of the 17th Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
The meeting was later joined by eight women Parliamentarians of Pakistan (Members of the National Assembly and Senate), including Andleeb Abbas, Maleeka Ali Bokhari, Kanwal Shauzab, Seemee Ezdi, TashfeenSafdar, Syma Nadeem, Aliya Hamza Malik and Dr. Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur, to interact with the Indonesian Foreign Minister.
Views were exchanged on women empowerment and promotion of equal opportunities, especially in the context of democratic and Islamic character of both Indonesia and Pakistan. The meeting discussed the great scope for cooperation between the women MPs from both sides to share best legislative practices, enhance mutual contacts and further parliamentary engagement in the areas of health, education and sports, among others.
The participants expressed solidarity with the people of Afghanistan, in particular women and girls, and discussed ways to reach out to them in these difficult times. In this regard, they agreed to explore the formation of a joint forum of women parliamentarians from Pakistan and Indonesia.
The two sides will pursue these initiatives through their respective focal points designated for this purpose.
