Canada's Foreign Minister Anita Anand paid a one-day official visit to Islamabad, where she held separate meetings with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to discuss strengthening bilateral relations.Both sides expressed a strong commitment to expanding cooperation, particularly in trade, investment and key economic sectors.

Canada showed interest in exploring fresh opportunities in agriculture, mining, renewable energy, automobile manufacturing and auto parts, while Pakistan also highlighted agri-foods, vaccine manufacturing and information technology as promising areas for collaboration.

The two countries agreed that progress on the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPPA) would help improve investor confidence and encourage greater Canadian investment in Pakistan.During the visit, both governments also signed a protocol on phyto-sanitary regulations governing the import of Canadian canola into Pakistan.

Dar described economic cooperation as a central pillar of the bilateral relationship and invited Canadian companies to invest in education, infrastructure, critical minerals and emerging technologies.

The discussions further covered labour mobility, climate change, science and technology, food safety cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, recognising the Pakistani diaspora in Canada as an important bridge between the two nations.

Both countries agreed to enhance institutional engagement through regular consultations, annual review meetings and exchanges of trade and mineral sector delegations.

On regional matters, Dar raised the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and urged Canada to support the restoration of the Indus Waters Treaty, expressing concern over what he described as the weaponisation of water by India.

Anand noted that this was the first visit by a Canadian foreign minister to Pakistan in nearly two decades and reaffirmed Canada's intention to deepen its long-standing diplomatic and economic partnership with Pakistan.