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CE okays plan to form policy planning forum in foreign ministry

T A MALIK

ISLAMABAD: Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf has approved the setting up of an efficient and capable policy planning forum in Ministry of Foreign Affairs and directed it to work out the modalities in this regard.

A meeting was held here on Tuesday with General Pervez Musharraf in the chair to improve the working of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and to make it a more dynamic, viable and effective organisation.

General Musharraf was given a comprehensive briefing on re-structuring of the Foreign Office and Missions abroad.

General Musharraf directed the Foreign Ministry to encourage an integrated approach to diplomacy in the light of rapid changes and emerging challenges facing Pakistan.

Significant rationalisation and improvement in the work of the MOFA are to be assured affecting substantial savings while also enhancing efficiency.

The Chief Executive stressed upon the need to have an integrated approach in which tangible and well-defined goals would be given to the Foreign Missions. The aim is to promote the political, security, economic and commercial interests of the country. General Musharraf said that the national interest was of paramount importance and was being accorded the highest priority.

He added that the deliberations to improve the working of the MOFA and Foreign Missions had been initiated to serve this end.

Discussions were also held to improve functional working of the missions abroad and to enforce various austerity measures, including reducing the number of missions in view of changed requirements and curtailing superfluous administrative expenditure. Recommendations to improve the career management of officers of the MOFA and providing better professional training and accommodation to them were also agreed.

Lieutenant General Hamid Javaid who is heading a Committee comprising senior representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Commerce, Finance, Information and the Establishment Division, briefed the meeting.

Participants included the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Commerce, the Advisor to the Chief Executive on National Affairs and Information, the foreign Secretary and other senior civil and military officers. The briefed CE about the various recommendations and suggestions, which had been arrived at after extensive consultations and after reconciling differing views.