By Adnan Hameed TWA ______ The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan have discussed signing of a Bilateral Political Consultation agreement by end of this year to foster deeper cooperation at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels for addressing global challenges. The signing of the agreement came under discussion during a meeting between Jemal Beker Abdula, Special Envoy & Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the FDR Ethiopia to Pakistan, and Ambassador Hamid Asghar Khan, Additional Secretary (Africa) Ministry of the Foreign Affairs. Both sides agreed to sign the agreement at the earliest possible time which will help create an institutional mechanism for both the countries to work together at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels for dealing with global issues such as climate change, terrorism, cybercrimes, fake news and others. On the occasion, Ambassador Jemal Beker briefed the Additional Secretary about the earnest desire of the Government of Ethiopia for signing the Bilateral Political Consultation agreement with the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to further strengthen the bilateral relations. He highlighted the growing cooperation between the two countries in the realms of politics, economy, trade and culture through consistent and constructive engagement between the governments, business community, academia and professionals of the two countries with the delegations’ exchange in the last two years. The Ambassador also briefed the Additional Secretary about Home Grown Economic Reform Programme 1.0 (HGERP) which has doubled size of its GDP, making it top economy in the East Africa and 3rd economy in the Sub Saharan Africa under the leadership and guidance of Dr. Abiy Ahmed Ali, Prime Minister of Ethiopia. He said the Government of Ethiopia had now launched the HGERP 2.0 which is aimed at creating a stable macroeconomic environment, transforming investment and trade environment, boosting productive growth and improving public sector capability. The Ambassador informed the Additional Secretary about Ethiopia’s initiatives for regional integration such as Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Green Legacy Initiative, Dine for Generation and others. He said South Sudan had signed the Nile Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement which would ensure equitable and reasonable utilization of the Nile water and further integrate the region. He further said Ethiopia had been forefront to ensure peace and security in the region by bringing the warring parties on the table for talks to end the conflicts in the region. On the other hand, the Additional Secretary reiterated the Government of Pakistan’s commitment to further deepen the bilateral ties by enhancing bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation. He informed the Ambassador that the Government of Pakistan had ratified the Bilateral Political Consultative agreement which was crucial to strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries.