Vatican foreign minister to visit Islamabad, Pakistan says

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has announced that Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s foreign minister and secretary for relations with states in the Holy See, will visit Islamabad from Oct. 8 to 10 at the invitation of Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar.

According to the ministry, the main focus of Gallagher’s talks with Ishaq Dar will be discussion of interfaith coordination, intercultural dialogue, sustainable peace and an examination of regional and international developments.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry added that Gallagher will also meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during the visit and is scheduled to meet members of Pakistan’s Catholic community.

The trip coincides with the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and the Vatican, and the Foreign Ministry described it as the first visit to the country by a senior Vatican official at the level of secretary for relations with states.

Pakistan and the Vatican established diplomatic relations in 1951, and Pakistani officials say the upcoming talks could help strengthen contacts in the fields of peace and interfaith dialogue.