Departing Australian HC shares thoughts on bilateral ties

Islamabad: As her posting in Islamabad comes to an end, the Australian High Commissioner Margaret Adamson, addressing a gathering of think tanks and members of media at the Pakistan Institute of Development Studies, (PIDS) reflected on Australia’s growing bilateral ties with Pakistan.

“Our people-to-people links continue to grow with more than 60,000 Pakistani Australians who make a wonderful contribution to our vibrant and diverse culture. Pakistani Australians make up the largest of Australia’s Muslim communities. Our cricketing ties have always been a unifying passion,” she said, reiterating that Pakistan will celebrate its centenary in 2047 and the people and governments of Pakistan will need to make some major - and sometimes difficult - decisions to achieve this goal.

“I am confident that Pakistan has the capacity to reach that milestone as a prosperous, open, tolerant and inclusive upper middle-income country. The country’s youth bulge can be a demographic dividend that drives economic transformation,” she said. “But achieving that requires a diverse set of reforms including improvements to the business environment and investment in first class infrastructure and education.”