Pakistan calls for deeper UN-EU partnership at UNSC

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, urged stronger cooperation between the United Nations and the European Union in a statement at a UN Security Council meeting on the EU's partnership with the UN, saying deeper collaboration had become strategically vital at a time of mounting global instability.

According to the ambassador’s statement released by Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, he said the widening geopolitical divide was putting growing strain on multilateralism and pushing the rules-based international order towards a dangerous tipping point. The ambassador said Pakistan valued the EU’s longstanding support for multilateralism, international law and the UN Charter, and welcomed its continued commitment to working with the UN as the central pillar of international cooperation.

The statement said the ambassador warned that strategic competition was increasingly replacing cooperation at a time when the world most needed collective action to bridge development gaps and promote shared prosperity. In that context, he said cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organisations under Chapter VIII of the UN Charter should be treated as a strategic necessity.

Referring to the role of regional bodies, the ambassador said organisations such as the EU were important partners in advancing peace and security, sustainable development and human rights. He also recalled Security Council Resolution 2788, adopted during Pakistan’s presidency of the Council last July, which recognised the contribution of regional and sub-regional organisations in complementing UN efforts to prevent conflict and encourage peaceful dispute resolution, according to the statement.

The statement said Ahmed pointed to ongoing conflicts in West Asia, Europe and the Middle East as evidence that crises no longer remain confined to their immediate geographic areas. He said Pakistan’s position remained anchored in the UN Charter and in support for dialogue, de-escalation and peaceful settlement of disputes. The ambassador also expressed appreciation for EU backing for Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts towards a peaceful outcome in West Asia.

On Palestine, the ambassador said the EU remained a significant diplomatic and humanitarian actor and acknowledged its support for a just and lasting two-state solution in line with international law and relevant UN resolutions, the statement said. He added that the bloc could play a greater role in efforts to ease Palestinian suffering and advance Palestinian rights, including self-determination and statehood.

The statement said the ambassador also voiced hope for a negotiated settlement to the conflict in Ukraine and highlighted a range of global challenges disproportionately affecting the Global South, including food insecurity, freshwater scarcity, energy volatility, supply chain disruption, pandemics, climate change and natural disasters.

He further praised EU support for the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement, humanitarian assistance and reform of the international financial system, while also commending EU-UN cooperation in peacekeeping and peacebuilding, according to the statement.

Highlighting bilateral ties, Ahmad said the EU was Pakistan’s largest trade and investment partner and described the GSP Plus framework as a mutually beneficial model that had supported growth in Pakistan-EU trade, the statement added.