ISLAMABAD, Sept 1: Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar will travel to Germany on Monday on a three-day official visit at the invitation of her German counterpart Guido Westerwelle.

During her visit, Ms Khar will hold intensive talks with Mr Westerwelle on bilateral relations and ways and means to strengthen them to the mutual benefit of the two countries, a Foreign Office spokesman said. The foreign ministers would also exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual concern. They would sign a ‘roadmap for Pakistan-Germany strategic dialogue’, providing for a multi-sectoral cooperation framework between the two countries.

Soon after her arrival in Berlin, Ms Khar will deliver a keynote address at the German Council on Foreign Relations on “Changing Regional and Global Environment: Pakistan’s Perspective”.

She will meet the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Bundestag Ruprecht Polenz and Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere and will have an interactive session with representatives of the business community, intelligentsia and NGOs organised by the Korber Foundation. She will also meet members of the Pakistani community at the Pakistan Embassy.

Germany is Pakistan’s largest trading partner in Europe and also a major source of investment in the country.A 70,000-strong Pakistan community and more than 2,200 students in German universities serve as an important link between the two countries. The visit by Foreign Minister Khar is expected to inject further momentum into bilateral ties.—APP