President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have called for greater opportunities for legal migration for Pakistani workers and professionals to Europe. The President stressed that Pakistan's sustained efforts to curb irregular migration should be matched by expanded legal pathways, skills-based mobility, and structured cooperation with the European Union (EU).
The President expressed these views during a meeting with Magnus Brunner, European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, who called on him at the Aiwan-e-Sadr on Tuesday. The meeting focused on Pakistan-EU relations, cooperation on migration management, efforts to combat human trafficking and migrant smuggling, and opportunities to facilitate legal migration.
Zardari said Pakistan attached great importance to its broad-based cooperation with the European Union and remained committed to implementing the Pakistan-EU Strategic Engagement Plan. He highlighted Pakistan's cooperation with the EU in curbing irregular migration, noting that Pakistan continued to implement the EU Readmission Agreement and had readmitted more than 30,000 individuals over the years.
Referring to progress in reducing irregular migration, the President noted that, according to EU figures, irregular migration from Pakistan had declined by 64 percent over the past 18 months, making Pakistan the only country in the region to achieve such a reduction. He said this progress reflected Pakistan's sustained efforts and underlined the importance of expanding safe and legal avenues for migration.
The meeting was informed that Pakistan had sought the European Union's assistance in strengthening the capacity of the Pakistan Coast Guards and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to enhance efforts to combat irregular migration and migrant smuggling. The President emphasised that legal migration pathways were essential to providing safe opportunities for workers and reducing reliance on smuggling networks.
President Zardari also welcomed the expansion of the EU Talent Partnerships framework and called for greater opportunities for skilled workers and professionals, including through circular migration. Commissioner Magnus Brunner appreciated Pakistan's role in maintaining regional balance, saying that Pakistan had done an amazing job in this regard.
He also commended Pakistan's efforts to prevent irregular migrants from undertaking dangerous journeys that cost many of them their lives. Meanwhile, in his meeting with European Union (EU) Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif emphasised the need to complement efforts to curb irregular migration with practical opportunities for "safe, orderly and regular migration."
The meeting focused on strengthening Pakistan-EU cooperation in migration and mobility, one of the eight pillars of the Pakistan-EU Strategic Engagement Plan 2019, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a press release. In another meeting, President Zardari expressed confidence that the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed by Pakistan, Türkiye, and Saudi Arabia, would strengthen regional peace and stability through defensive cooperation guided by the principles of the UN Charter and international law.
Lieutenant General (Retd) Nauman Mahmood, the first Secretary General appointed under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, called on President Asif Ali Zardari at the Aiwan-e-Sadr on Tuesday.