The DICE Forum organised a roundtable titled “Pakistan–Africa: Building People-to-People Bridges” at the IPC Secretariat in Islamabad on Friday. The event brought together African diplomats, senior government officials, business leaders and institutional representatives to explore practical ways of strengthening relations between Pakistan and African countries.
The roundtable was chaired by Ambassador Hamid Asghar Khan, Additional Secretary (Africa), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and hosted by Ms Aliya Agha, Chairperson of the DICE Forum.
The diplomatic participants included H.E. Mohamed Karmoune, Ambassador of Morocco; H.E. Peter Mbogo Njiru, High Commissioner of Kenya; H.E. Fatou Harerimana, High Commissioner of Rwanda; H.E. Titus Mehliswa Jonathan Abu-Basutu, Ambassador of Zimbabwe; and H.E. Munsoo Kurrimbaccus, High Commissioner of Mauritius.
The event was also attended by Mrs Fatchima Hassane Paraiso, Programme Assistant, OIC-COMSTECH, Uganda; Boniface Njuguna, Commercial Attaché, Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, Kenya; and Omar Butt, representing the Consulate of Ghana.
Pakistan’s business and institutional community was represented by Usman Shaukat, President of the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Zahid Latif Khan, CEO of ZLK and Shahid Iqbal Qureshi, Chairman, Ministry of Industries and Production.
Participants discussed opportunities to strengthen educational and business linkages through joint ventures, cultural exchanges, youth engagement and cooperation on climate resilience. They emphasised the need to move beyond occasional interactions and develop sustained institutional, economic and people-to-people connections between Pakistan and African countries.
