POLITICAL ISSUES
IRAN
1. Pakistan, Iran discuss bilateral issues
Islamabad, Wednesday, 1 March 2017   
On the sidelines of the 13th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani held a bilateral meeting to discuss socio-economic, political and cultural areas of cooperation.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad

2. Iranian envoy meets Army Chief
Islamabad, Saturday, 4 March 2017   
Iranian envoy to Pakistan Mehdi Honardoost visited Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Qamar Bajwa to deliberate over matters of regional security and mutual interest.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad; See also: Pakistan Today, Lahore

IRAQ
3. Pakistan condemns car bombing by IS in Baghdad
Islamabad, Tuesday, 21 March 2017   
Foreign Office strongly condemned the deadly terrorist attack by the Islamic State in Baghdad's Shiite-dominated Amil neighbourhood in Southwest Baghdad on 20 March, leaving at least 27 dead.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad; See also: Pakistan Point, Lahore

4. Pakistan offers development assistance to Iraq army 
Islamabad, Thursday, 30 March 2017   
Secretary of Defence Zamir-Ul-Hassan Shah offered infrastructural assistance and capacity building to Iraqi Armed Forces by Pakistan during his meeting with Iraqi envoy Ali-Rahmani in Islamabad.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad

KUWAIT
5. Pakistan PM visits Kuwait
Islamabad, Monday, 6 March 2017   
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited Kuwait accompanied by Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi and Board of Investment Chairman Miftah Ismail and other officials and investors for an in-depth review of bilateral relations.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad; See also: Pakistan Today, Lahore  

TURKEY
6. Pakistan-Turkey Bilateral Consultations held in Islamabad 
Islamabad, Tuesday, 7 March 2017   
The fifth Round of Pakistan-Turkey Bilateral Consultations on Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Issues was held in Islamabad with participation of Turkish delegation led by Alper Coskun, Director General for International Security Affairs of the Turkish Foreign Ministry and Pakistan’s Additional Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tasnim Aslam.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad
 
7. Turkish Health delegation visits Punjab
Islamabad, Sunday, 26 March 2017   
A high-level delegation from Turkish Health Ministry led by Managing Director for International Health Policies, Selami Kilic held a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss prospects of healthcare collaboration.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad 

8. Pakistan parliamentary delegation visits Ankara, Konya
Islamabad, Monday, 27 March 2017   
Pakistani parliamentary delegation led by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq interacted with the Turkish delegation led by Speaker of Turkish parliament Ismail Kahraman in Ankara and Governor of Konya Yakup Janpolat, to highlight avenues for bilateral cooperation, domestic and regional developments. On the sidelines, Sadiz also met Turkish President Erdogan.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad

YEMEN
9. Yemen Foreign Minister visits Pakistan
Islamabad, Monday, 13 March 2017   
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Yemen Jalil Al Mekhlafi held a meeting with Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz in Islamabad to discuss situation in Yemen and bilateral issues, during his two-day visit from 12-14 March 2017.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad  

DEFENCE ISSUES
IRAN
10. Pakistan Naval college delegation visits Tehran
Islamabad, Thursday, 9 March 2017   
A 16-member delegation from Pakistan Navy War College led by college commandant Moazzam Ilyas paid a five-day visit to Tehran to meet senior Iranian military leadership and visit military establishments. 
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad

11. Pakistan Navy ships reach Tehran
Islamabad, Sunday, 12 March 2017   
Pakistan Navy Ships TIPPU SULTAN (DDG-185) and JURRAT arrived at the Iranian Port Bandar Abbas on 12 March, for a three-day port visit to enhance bilateral cooperation and promote maritime collaboration.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad

JORDAN
12. Pakistan Naval Chief visits Jordan      
Islamabad, Wednesday, 8 March 2017   
Pakistan’s Chief of the Naval Staff Muhammad Zakaullah met Hassan Bin Talal, former Crown Prince of Jordan to discuss matters relating security collaboration and avenues for enhancing cooperation with Royal Jordanian Naval Force.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad; See also: Pakistan Observer, Islamabad 

SAUDI ARABIA
13. Pakistan clarifies military stance on Yemen conflict
Islamabad, Wednesday, 15 March 2017   
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif rejected the media reports about sending a Pakistan army brigade to Saudi Arabia for participating in ongoing Saudi-Yemen conflict and clarified that Pakistan would not get involved in this conflict.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad 

14. Foreign Affairs Assistant visits Riyadh
Islamabad, Wednesday, 22 March 2017   
Tariq Fatemi, Prime Minister’s Special Assistant for Foreign Affairs held a meeting with Saudi Minister for Labour and Social Development Ali bin Nasir in Riyadh to discuss issues relating Pakistani workers and future cooperation in this sector during his visit on 22 March.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad

TURKEY
15. Turkish Naval Commander visits Pak
Islamabad, Wednesday, 1 March 2017   
Turkish Armed Forces Commander Hulusi AKAR visited Air Headquarters on 1 March and met Pakistan’s Chief of Air Staff Sohail Aman to discuss potential areas of military and defence cooperation.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad

ECONOMIC ISSUES
BAHRAIN
16. Bahrain’s Commerce Minister visits Pakistan
Islamabad, Tuesday, 28 March 2017   
Commerce Minister of Bahrain Zayed Alzayani paid a two-day visit to Pakistan to attend Pakistan-Bahrain Business Conference in Islamabad. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his interaction with Alzayani invited Bahrain to explore investment opportunities in China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad

IRAN
17. Sindh Governor invites Iranian investors 
Islamabad, Wednesday, 15 March 2017   
In a meeting with Consul General of Iran Ahmad Muhammadi, Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair invited investors from Iran to take advantage of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and highlighted Karachi, as an attractive destination for national and international investors.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad
 
SAUDI ARABIA
18. President underlines importance of Pakistani Diaspora in Saudi Arabia
Islamabad, Friday, 24 March 2017   
President Mamnoon Hussain held a farewell meeting with the outgoing Ambassador of Saudi Arabia Abdullah Marzouk Al-Zahrani and reiterated importance of Saudi Arabia for the state of Pakistan.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad; See also: Radio Pakistan, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad

19. Pakistan offers assistance to illegal Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia
Islamabad, Thursday, 30 March 2017   
Pakistan consul General in Riyadh released helpline numbers and opened special assistance service for Pakistani community members who wish to leave for their native country without any penalty under the Saudi Government’s amnesty scheme.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad
 
TURKEY
20. Punjab government delegation visits Turkey
Islamabad, Tuesday, 21 March 2017   
A delegation of Punjab Government led by Director General Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Zahid Zaman visited Ankara on invitation of Turkish Contractors Association (TCA) to address the Turkish private sector representatives about investment opportunities in Punjab’s real estate sector.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad

COMPILED BY DIVYA MALHOTRA

Divya Malhotra is a Doctoral candidate at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.  Email

As part of its editorial policy, the MEI@ND standardizes spelling and date formats 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