THE people of Pakistan are overwhelmed with happiness and joy over the visit of British Royal Couple, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton who landed in the federal capital on Monday night for a five day tour. Their visit in fact has refreshed our memories of the Princess Diana’s some memorable trips to Pakistan which were mostly based on her philanthropic work in the country.
Both Prince William and his spouse Kate Middleton also showed their commitment to some important causes by opening their tour with the visits to a school and then the Margalla Hills. The way they interacted with the students and got a briefing on efforts made by Pakistan to cope with climate change signifies how much importance the royal couple gives both to the education and the environment. Not only with their dresses they donned but also the speech made by Prince William at the national monument won them millions of hearts in Pakistan. Alluding to the unique bonds between Pakistan and the United Kingdom, Prince William said it will be in his country’s own interests that Pakistan succeeds. The way he acknowledged Pakistan’s contribution in the war on terror is also commendable. These very remarks really symbolize the strong ties between the two countries. For this, we should also be thankful to our Pakistani Diaspora in Britain that really have played an active role over the years in bringing the two countries closer together. It is also because of their efforts that a strong voice came from Britain in support of oppressed Kashmiri people. We are confident that this visit of the Royal couple will not only prove to be important in projecting soft and peaceful image of Pakistan abroad and give impetus to government’s efforts to attract more tourists to the country but also go a long way in further strengthening bilateral economic, trade and investment ties. In addition, there is also need to enhance exchanges between the two countries at different levels in order to learn from each other’s experience, especially Pakistan can learn a lot from the education sector of Britain. And given the level of understanding that exists between the two countries, such high level visits should be more frequent to take the relationship to new heights.
