POLITICAL ISSUES
IRAN
1. President grieved over Iranian tragedy
Islamabad, Wednesday, 10 April 2013
President Asif Ali Zardari has expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of lives in an earthquake, which hit southern Iran and expressed condolences on behalf of the people and the Government of Pakistan.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan

2. Iranian ambassador to Pakistan calls on the President
Karachi, Friday, 26 April 2013
Iranian ambassador to Pakistan called on President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday and discussed with him the bilateral relations. Both grieved over the other country’s recent calamities and the deaths and losses due to that.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan

KUWAIT
3. Pakistan Embassy in Kuwait holds National Day reception
Islamabad, Monday, 1 April 2013
A diplomatic reception was held by Pakistan Embassy in Kuwait on Sunday (31 March) at a local hotel to mark 73rd anniversary of Pakistan Day. Kuwait’s State Minister for Cabinet Affairs and Municipalities was the guest of honour and was attended by high level Kuwaiti dignitaries, diplomatic community, representatives of Pakistani community, media persons and officials of the embassy.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan

4. Pakistan’s new Ambassador arrives in Kuwait
Islamabad, Sunday, 21 April 2013
Pakistan’s new Ambassador to Kuwait arrived in Kuwait city and was received by representatives from Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and officers of the Pakistan Embassy.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan

SAUDI ARABIA
5. President praises King Abdullah’s gesture
Islamabad, Wednesday, 10 April 2013
President Asif Ali Zardari has lauded the gesture of King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia for allowing a three months grace period to the expatriate workers, including Pakistanis for correcting their labour status in accordance with the new labour laws of the Kingdom.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan

SYRIA
6. Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister calls on President
Karachi, Monday, 29 April 2013
President Asif Ali Zardari while talking to Syrian Deputy Prime Minister reiterated Pakistan’s support for all efforts to facilitate a peaceful Syrian-led and inclusive solution meeting the democratic aspirations of the Syrian people.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan

TURKEY
7. Turkish ambassador calls on ANP Vice President
Islamabad, Friday, 12 April 2013
Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan called on the Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Senator and discussed bilateral relations and upcoming elections.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan

8. Turkey offers condolence on devastation caused by earthquake
Islamabad, Wednesday, 17 April 2013
Turkish Foreign Minister called the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan and offered condolence and assistance on the devastation caused by the recent earthquake involving loss of precious lives and property in Mashkel area of Baluchistan.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan

ECONOMIC ISSUES
EGYPT
9. Egyptian Envoy seeks to strengthen Pak-Egypt Trade ties
Islamabad, Thursday, 25 April 2013
The Ambassador of Egypt in Pakistan, while addressing business community of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), asked for promotion of bilateral relations between the two countries. He said that Egypt has tremendous opportunities of investment in the areas of real estate development, fertilizer, oil and gas sector. He also highlighted the scope of importing fish and other sea food items from Pakistan. The Ambassador also proposed that ICCI should also sign a MoU with Cairo Chamber of Commerce and Industry to promote existing volume of trade which stood at US$380 million.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan

IRAN
10. Iran stresses expansion of trade relations with Pakistan
Islamabad, Tuesday, 2 April 2013
Deputy Head of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran for Marketing Affairs stressed on expansion of trade relations with the regional countries including Pakistan by boosting role of free trade zones. He also noted that the provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan have a major role in this regard.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan

11. Iran to appoint new commercial attaches in Russia, Pakistan, Armenia
Islamabad, Monday, 8 April 2013
Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization head said that Iran would appoint new commercial attaches in Pakistan by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (19 March 2014).
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan

12. LCCI for barter trade with Iran
Lahore, Monday, 15 April 2013
Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry President while talking to a 10-member Pakistan Plastic Manufacturers Association delegation called for barter trade with Iran, as smuggling is not only widening the trade deficit but also causing huge loss to the exchequer.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan; See Also: The Dawn, Karachi

13. KP Governor stresses need for Pak-Iran cooperation in trade, technology
Peshawar, Friday, 26 April 2013
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor, while addressing as the chief guest in a dinner at Consulate of Iran arranged by the Consul General, stressed for Pak-Iran cooperation in trade, production, technology and knowledge advancement.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan

MISCELLENIOUS ISSUES
EGYPT
14. Egypt satirist faces probe for ‘insulting Pakistan’
Cairo, Tuesday, 9 April 2013
Egyptian prosecutors are probing new complaints against popular satirist Bassem Youssef, this time for “insulting Pakistan” Wildly popular Youssef — whose weekly political satire programme Al-Bernameg (The Show) has spared few public figures of merciless critique is accused of “insulting the state of Pakistan and causing tensions in its relations with Egypt.”
Source: The Dawn, Karachi

15. Egyptian judicial delegation calls on CJ
Islamabad, Sunday, 21 April 2013
A delegation of Egyptian judiciary visited Pakistan and proposed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for exchange of delegation and share of experiences and said that draft would be sent. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry welcomed the delegation and said that this would greatly help in formulating innovative strategies for reforming judicial system in the country and making it responsive to the present-day requirements of the society.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan

IRAN
16. Pak U-14 team to feature in AFC Football Championship in Iran
Islamabad, Wednesday, 10 April 2013
A strong Pakistan outfit would feature in the AFC Under-14 Football Championship scheduled to be held at Mashhad, Iran from 23-29 April. This would be for the first time that a competition at this level is being held.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan; See Also: The Dawn, Karachi

SAUDI ARABIA
17. Saudi Arabia provides 200 tons of Dates to Pakistan
Islamabad, Thursday, 11 April 2013
The Government Saudi Arabia provided 200 tons of dates to Pakistan as a gift and Deputy Head of Mission in Islamabad formally handed over the consignment to senior Pakistani official.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan

UAE
19. National Kabaddi team would leave for Sharjah on 10 April
Islamabad, Thursday, 4 April 2013
The national Kabaddi team would leave for Sharjah on 10 April to participate in the first premier league scheduled to be held in Sharjah from 11 April.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan

20. Pakistan, UAE to meet in football fund-raiser for Malala
Karachi, Sunday, 28 April 2013
Pakistan Football Federation’s marketing consultant told media on Saturday( 27 April) that the Pakistan national team would take part in a football match between Pakistan and the UAE on the United Nations’ World Peace Day with the proceeds going to the Malala foundation. Malala foundation aims to offer a safe place for girls to study as well as financial support for their families in her hometown of Swat.
Source: The Dawn, Karachi

Compiled by PAULAMI SANYAL

Paulami Sanyal is pursuing research at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.  Email

As part of the policy, the MEI@ND standardizes spellings and date format to make the text uniformly accessible and stylistically consistent. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views/positions of the MEI@ND. Editor, MEI@ND P R Kumaraswamy