Islamabad, 17 March (APP): Pakistan accords immense importance to its relations with the European Union espousing values of democracy, plurality and rule of law. Ms. Marriyum Aurangzeb, Minister of State for Information, Broadcasting & National Heritage said this during a meeting with H.E. Jean-François Cautain, the Ambassador of European Union to Pakistan, who called on her here, today. The EU Ambassador and Minister of State discussed various matters pertaining to cooperation in the field of media, information and culture. The EU ambassador assured the minister to extend all possible help to Pakistan in the field of media, information and culture. He also extended invitation to Minister of State to join the celebrations marking 60th anniversary of treaty of Rome.
Acknowledging the role of media in shaping minds and creating awareness, Ms. Marriyum Aurangzeb said that Ministry of Information was working on an elaborate plan to impart professional training to the media persons with a view to harness their skills and expertise. She expressed the hope for support and cooperation from EU in this regard.
Minister of State said that Prime Minister, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif firmly believed in freedom of expression as it was sine quo non for democracy and free society. She informed the EU ambassador that Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage had taken myriad of initiatives to ensure welfare of the media persons as well as preservation of national heritage with the objective to promote the image of Pakistan and mitigate misperceptions about its people and the land.
Ms. Marriyum Aurangzeb said that Ministry was working on formulating a comprehensive film production and broadcast policy, first of its kind to translate the vision of Prime Minister of Pakistan to revive indigenous entertainment industry, national heritage, culture and tourism. She said that quality production would create awareness among the masses about developments in the socio-economic domain, issues of national importance and their responsibilities.
APP/Nahd
