Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Monday Pakistan will receive 15 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine from the World Health Organisation's (WHO) COVAX scheme as the country continues to battle the pandemic's third wave.
Qureshi took to twitter to announce the development after his meeting with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.
"Following my meeting with Foreign Minister @HeikoMaas, I am happy to announce that Pakistan will receive 15 million doses of the #COVID vaccine under COVAX, with a commitment for these to be delivered by May," FM Qureshi said in a tweet.
FM Qureshi is in Berlin with a delegation on a two-day official visit to celebrate 70 years of diplomatic relations with Germany.
Meanwhile, addressing a joint news conference with his German counterpart Heiko Maas after delegation level talks in Berlin, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said there are great opportunities for Germany to invest in Pakistan in various areas, including renewable energy, electric vehicles, information technology and tourism.
He said Pakistan wants to have more economic linkages with Germany for enhancement of bilateral trade and investment.
He said he has apprised his German counterpart about the shift in Pakistan's policy from geo-politics to geo-economics, the government's focus on economic diplomacy and the new incentives being offered to investors.
Referring to the regional security situation, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said India will have to take the first step to create an enabling and conducive environment for talks with Pakistan after India's action about Kashmir on August 5, 2019. He said Pakistan wants to have peaceful relations with all the countries, including India. He said all issues can be resolved through dialogue.
The Minister said the objectives of Pakistan and Germany about Afghanistan are identical. He said we want peace, stability and progress in Afghanistan. He said Germany has important role in stabilizing situation in Afghanistan. He said we will remain in touch on Afghan issue.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi thanked Germany for supporting Pakistan at FATF and also its support to grant EU GSP Plus status to Pakistan. He also thanked Germany for providing fifteen million anti-Covid-19 doses to Pakistan.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi said his visit is taking place when Pakistan and Germany are celebrating 70 years of their diplomatic relations, and its logo has also been made public.
Speaking on the occasion, the German Foreign Minister said the two sides held constructive discussion on enhancing bilateral trade and investment. He said Pakistan is of great importance for Germany. The German Foreign Minister said Pakistan has played great efforts for peaceful solution to the conflict in Afghanistan. He said any situation in Afghanistan influences intensively Pakistan.