Ambassador Iftekhar Aziz
His Excellency Iftekhar Aziz, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, was a gracious host as he recently welcomed The Times to his chancellery for an exclusive interview. During an hourlong discussion, the articulate and debonair ambassador, who will shortly be leaving Kuwait following the end of his tenure here, spoke about the highlights of his career in the country, bilateral ties between Pakistan and Kuwait and the prospects for further strengthening relations between the two friendly countries.
Sketching his professional career spanning nearly three decades, Ambassador Aziz said, “I joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1984 and following initial training in Pakistan and then at Columbia University in the United States, I was assigned to the South Asia directorate as Section Officer in 1987.
Four years later, in 1991, I was appointed as vice-consul to our consulate in Toronto, Canada, where I remained until 1994, when I was transferred back to Islamabad as Director Disarmaments. In 1996, I moved to United Kingdom, to do my Masters in International Affairs and Diplomacy from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London.” “Returning from London, I was assigned as Deputy Secretary Foreign Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and remained there until 1999, when I was assigned as Counselor Political Affairs to our High Commission in London. Three years later, I was appointed as Deputy Head of Mission to the Pakistan embassy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
After two eventful three-year stints abroad, at the end of 2005, I returned to work as Director General in various departments under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And then, in July 2009, I was accredited as ambassador to the State of Kuwait.” Pointing to some of the highlights during his tenure in Kuwait, the ambassador said, “Often the crowning moments in the functioning of a diplomatic mission are those occasions when it can enhance bilateral relations by facilitating interactions at the highest level. Fortunately for our embassy, since 2009 we had the honor of hosting our President, His Excellency Asif Ali Zardari on two occasions, in February 2011, when he arrived to participate in Kuwait’s 50th anniversary of Independence and, again in May 2011, when he headed a high-powered delegation to Kuwait.
During these visits our president discussed with His Highness the Amir ways of enhancing bilateral relations in various fields and on identifying areas where Kuwaiti entrepreneurs could invest in Pakistan.” On a similar vein, our embassy hosted visits to Kuwait by two of our Prime Ministers; in February 2011, during the visit by the then Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, a bilateral Agreement on Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of Investment was signed. This agreement helped to put to rest concerns that prospective Kuwaiti investors might have about the safety of their investment in Pakistan.
Most recently, in October 2012, our Prime Minister, His Excellency Raja Pervaiz Ashraf arrived in the country to participate in the Asian Cooperation Dialogue Summit. These high-level by the President and Prime Ministers generated tremendous goodwill for the country and enhanced bilateral relations in investment, manpower and joint ventures. “
Speaking about relations on a more people to people level, the ambassador noted, “Of course, our mutual friendship goes much beyond bilateral and political ties; Pakistan and Kuwait have had a long and cherished relationship on the popular level between people of the two countries. We are not only in each other’s immediate neighborhood and share the same beliefs and traditional values we also have historical ties that binds us socially and culturally. Our cooperation in political, cultural and economic fields goes back to a period long before the advent of oil in Kuwait, when seafaring merchants used to make Karachi their first port of call in their voyages to India and beyond. Business and personal relations cultivated during those trips have continued down the ages and today there are in excess of 120,000 Pakistanis living and working in almost all sectors of Kuwait society. “
Elaborating on trade between the two countries, Ambassador Aziz added, “Our active and vibrant expatriate community here along with their compatriots in other parts of the world, are important elements in Pakistan’s economy. Remittances from the expat population contribute over US$500 million to the exchequer every year and this plays a significant role in Pakistan’s economic development. Remittances aside, there is an annual bilateral trade to the tune of US$ 3 billion between Pakistan and Kuwait, much of which comes from the import of oil and petroleum products from Kuwait. I believe that this trade figure is not commensurate with the long history and the strong bonds of friendship and cooperation that exist between our two countries. We are working to substantially increase these trade numbers by increasing imports of not just traditional exports like garments, carpets, rice, meat and fruit, but also other non-traditional value-added services and products.”
“In addition to bilateral trade, Kuwait, through its Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, has been proactively involved with economic development in Pakistan for over forty years. The Fund has disbursed loans for various hydro-power and infrastructure projects in different areas of Pakistan, including over KD12 million for the development of the Neelum Jelm hydropower plant and over KD14 million for reconstruction work in areas affected by the 2005 earthquake. Last year was also a significant year in our mutual relations; the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC), which has its biggest overseas investment in Pakistan, decided to invest in discovery of gas and oil in the Jeti fields of Sindh province.”
Explaining that bilateral investments from individual entrepreneurs and the private sector in Pakistan and Kuwait were also showing an upward trend, the ambassador said, “While traditional Kuwaiti family-owned businesses like Al Marafie and Al Noor have substantial investments in Pakistan, investment from Pakistan Kuwait Investment Committee in Meezan Bank, the first exclusively Islamic Bank in Pakistan is also ongoing.
In addition to this, private financiers from Kuwait have invested in Pakistan’s new Gwadar deep-sea port in Baluchistan province. This new port, which is conceived as a second port to Karachi, is an immense investment opportunity as it will be a transshipment facility for onward transport of goods to countries in Pakistan’s hinterland as well as to western regions of China.”
Pointing out that social, cultural and educational exchanges between the two countries help strengthen and broaden mutual relations, the envoy added, “In the past, Pakistan has offered numerous scholarships for Kuwaiti students to pursue higher education in professional fields like medicine, dentistry and engineering in Pakistan colleges. Similarly, Pakistani students are enrolled in the Faculty of Sharia and Islamic Studies at Kuwait University. We are aiming to increase these student level representations so that young people get an opportunity to live, study and interact with societies in the two countries.”
“On the cultural side, exchanges by both countries are limited to visits by artists sponsored by local companies or organizations. We are now attempting to widen this interaction with more official visits by Kuwaiti musical troupes to Pakistan and reciprocal visits by sufi dance and qawwali music troupes to perform at national celebrations in Kuwait. The tourism front has been notably impacted by the security situation in the country; nevertheless, people from Kuwait do travel to Pakistan, mainly on personal visits and principally to the urban centers. Once the situation improves and perceptions change, there is a huge potential for development and investment in the country’s tourism sector.”
Detailing defense links between the two countries, Ambassador Aziz continued, “Prior to 1991, Pakistan was heavily involved in defense cooperations with Kuwait, especially in the training and setting up of Kuwait navy facilities. Today, military collaboration between the two continues through regular visits by high-ranking military officials and defense delegations to each other’s countries.
Meanwhile Pakistan remains actively and proactively involved in various peacekeeping missions of the United Nations; in fact, we form the largest military contingent of the UN body in maintaining peace around the world.”
Expressing his profound gratitude to His Highness the Amir, the government, especially the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the people of Kuwait for the cooperation and support extended to him and the mission during his tenure in the country, the ambassador concluded by saying, “When you leave a country after having lived there for awhile, you tend to take a bit of the land with you in the form of loving memories. Kuwait will always be memorable to me, not just because it was the place of my first posting as ambassador, but also for the warm welcome, genuine affection and unstinted support I received from people in this country throughout my deployment here. Wherever I have been to, whether government offices, public functions or private visits, people have expressed sincere friendliness to me and conveyed their solidarity with my country. I have felt honored by these gestures and will always treasure the days spent in Kuwait.”
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