PASAY CITY—Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian welcomed a Pakistani parliamentary delegation to the Senate Ceremonial Hall in Manila on August 3 to boost ties between the two nations. 

Misbah Khar, Advisor to the Chairman of the Pakistan Senate, led the visiting group alongside Pakistani Ambassador Asima Rabbani. 

The delegation was in town for the UNITE Parliamentarians Network Global Health Summit. 

During the meeting, Khar extended an invitation for Filipino lawmakers to visit Pakistan and highlighted the newly created Inter-Parliamentary Speaker’s Conference aimed at building peace and cooperation across regions.  

In response, Gatchalian agreed to revitalize direct exchanges between the two parliaments and tasked Senator Robin Padilla to lead a dedicated friendship association with Pakistani lawmakers. 

Senator Pia Cayetano focused on expanding cooperation through sports diplomacy, while Padilla noted that direct ties between citizens are essential for strong relations. 

Gatchalian also praised Pakistan’s active role as a mediator during current security tensions in the Middle East.

Economic collaboration took center stage as Ambassador Rabbani pointed to progress from the Joint Economic Commission held earlier this year. 

Both sides agreed that similar income levels and growth goals make partnership easy in areas like agriculture, pharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. 

Moving forward, lawmakers from both countries plan to explore shared opportunities in education, tourism, vaccine research, and sending health workers, especially nurses, to areas of need.

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