PM leaves for home after 5-day UK official visit

London(APP): Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, accompanied by the First Lady, left for Islamabad at the conclusion of his five-day official visit to the United Kingdom.

The Prime Minister and First Lady Nusrat Pervez Ashraf were seen off by Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the UK Wajid Shamsul Hasan and high officials of the Commission at Heathrow airport here.

Raja Pervez Ashraf, who embarked upon his first official visit to the UK after assumption of the office of prime minister, held talks with his British counterpart David Cameron on Tuesday at 10 Downing Street.

The Prime Minister had back to back engagements during his stay in London, besides addressing the Pakistani community at Bradford and opening of a machine readable passport office at Pakistan Consulate.

He also attended a reception, hosted by Pakistan’s High Commissioner in honour of British parliamentarians at the House of Commons and exchanged views with them on bilateral issues and matters of regional and international importance.

The British parliamentarians lauded the commitment and efforts of Pakistan for its courageous role in the fight against terrorism as a frontline state and also commended the commitment of democratic dispensation for transition to civilian set-up through free, fair and
transparent elections in the country.

The Prime Minister had threadbare interactive sessions with the Pakistani diaspora on different occasions and urged them to play their much-needed role in the development and progress of their
country.

Inviting investors and businessmen for investment in Pakistan at a reception organized by the UK Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UKPCCI) last night, the Prime Minister said the country was an investment-friendly state and they could capitalize on great potential as well as business opportunities in the diverse areas of economy.

During interaction with the delegations of Pakistan People’s Party, People’s Youth Organization and Pakistani community, the Prime Minister told them that Pakistan and the UK had excellent relations and fixed the target to jacking up the trade level to 2.5 billion pounds by 2015.