EU snubbed Pakistan Army chief’s request to join landmark meeting with Indo-Pacific in Paris
Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa’s request for a one-on-one meeting with Josep Borrell Fontelles, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, was also turned down.
PRAVEEN SWAMI
1 March, 2022 10:01 am IST
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New Delhi: European Union diplomats stonewalled requests from Pakistan’s army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, to be invited to attend a high-profile multilateral conference on the Indo-Pacific region in Paris last week, as well as a one-on-one meeting with the organisation’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell Fontelles, three diplomatic sources have confirmed to ThePrint.
General Bajwa, the sources said, also sought an invitation to the high-profile Munich Security Conference, which fell through after organisers pointed out that Pakistan’s National Security Adviser, Moeed Yusuf, was already scheduled to speak on Afghanistan.
The European Union did not respond to a request for comment from ThePrint. This report will be updated if a response is received.
Leaders from more than 30 countries in the Indian Ocean Region, including External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, attended the EU’s
Indo-Pacific conference on 22 February, along with the foreign ministers of EU member states. The conference has been seen as a step towards shaping a coherent European security policy for the Indian Ocean, through which an estimated 60 per cent of its global trade transits.
Europe has faced calls to contribute more to security operations in the Indian Ocean, where only one member state, France, has a significant naval presence.