The Pakistani Embassy in Damascus held Monday evening a reception ceremony marking the 76th independence anniversary, at Golden Mezzeh Hotel in Damascus.

In a speech during the event, Pakistani Ambassador in Damascus, Shahid Akhtar, affirmed that the Pakistani people made great sacrifices to achieve independence, adding that the cornerstone of his country’s foreign policy is long-term relations with all countries based on respect of the States’ sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The ambassador hailed the deep-rooted historical relations between Pakistan and Syria and their identical stances in all international forums, reviewing the history of relations between the both friendly countries such mutual aid during disasters, in addition to strengthening important industry sectors.

He underlined that cooperation also has witnessed progress and prosperity over the past few years through signing memorandums of understanding (MoU) in various fields including economy, defense, media and tourism, stressing that work is underway to establish permanent and long-term commercial cooperation.

For his part, Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, Eng. Muhammad Hassan Qatana, affirmed that Pakistan stand by Syrian people in their war against terrorism and in defending the independence of their country’s sovereignty.

He also appreciated Pakistan’s clear, courageous and steadfast standing by the Syrian people in natural disasters such as fires and earthquakes.

A number of ministers and other officials attended the ceremony.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency