ISLAMABAD, Jan 21: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will embark on a week-long visit to Davos and Brussels from Jan 24. During his trip he will have several important engagements, including a meeting with Nato secretary-general, diplomatic sources told Dawn on Sunday.

He will leave for Davos on Wednesday to represent Pakistan at the annual World Economic Forum from where he will proceed to Brussels on Jan 28. The prime minister will hold talks with his Belgian counterpart and meet Javier Solana, High Representative for the EU Common Foreign and Security and Secretary-General of the Council of the EU. He will also address the Nato Council and hold talks with Nato’s secretary-general.

The deteriorating situation in Afghanistan which is an overriding concern of Nato and the international community is likely to top the agenda. The meeting acquires special significance in the backdrop of harsh criticism of Pakistan by Nato commanders and its secretary-general.

A meeting with the EU Trade Commissioner is also on the cards during which the prime minister would make a pitch for a Free Trade Agreement and enhanced market access for Pakistan in the European Union, informed sources said.

According to sources efforts are underway to finalise an agreement with the EU on ‘re-admission of persons residing without authorisation’ so it can be initialled during the prime minister’s visit to Brussels.

Apparently the European Commission (EC) has linked the operationalisation of the EU-Pakistan Third Generation Agreement to the firming up of Re-admission agreement.

The Re-admission agreement aims at regularising the movement of Pakistanis in EU countries and putting an end to human smuggling that is said to be active in Spain, Italy and Greece.

According to one estimate between three to four million Pakistanis are residing in EU member countries and around 30 per cent or more may be illegal immigrants.Setting aside concerns of large-scale deportation as a result of this agreement, an official pointed out that it would not have a retrospective affect and added: “This will not lead to an exodus of Pakistanis but will regulate their movement.”

The European Commission has agreed to Pakistan’s proposal that the Joint

Declaration would include a clause for allowing and facilitating ‘managed migration’ of Pakistani workers to the EU, it is learnt. However, this would be in general terms rather than any guarantees or specified quota as such a concession would be governed by requirements of each member state.

Officials here generally maintain that the re-admission agreement would not have any negative impact on Pakistan. On the contrary they assert it would have several advantages, both in the immediate and long-term. They say it would ease procedures for genuine visa seekers, pave the way for greater market access and capacity building. Furthermore, it would help in establishing an institutional relationship with the EU and lead to Summit-level dialogue with the EU Troika that Pakistan has already sought.However, some government officials concede they are not too happy about the Re-admission agreement as there is no other choice given that the EU has linked the implementation of Third Generation Agreement to it.

The agreement proposed by the EC has been in the works since 2003 with the drafts going back and forth. Initially Pakistan was reluctant as the idea met with opposition from various government and political quarters. However, the assessment of economic and political advantages paved the way for it.