Pakistan and Austria on Monday agreed to further strengthen bilateral ties as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Chancellor Christian Stocker in Vienna.

PM Shehbaz arrived in Vienna a day earlier on a two-day visit, with the Foreign Office (FO) noting that it marked the first visit by a Pakistani prime minister to Austria since 1992.

PM Shehbaz and Stocker held a “restricted meeting” at the Federal Chancellery today, which was followed by delegation-level talks, a press release issued by PID said.

The delegation talks included Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Special Assistant to PM Tariq Fatemi, and Foreign Secretary Ambassador Amna Baloch.

The statement read: “Both leaders recalled the friendly and historic ties between the two countries and committed to work together more closely to further strengthen the bilateral relationship in diverse fields, including economic cooperation, trade and investment, tourism, hospitality, education, IT, healthcare and human resource development and mobility.

“To this end, they agreed to work for the early finalisation of MoUs (memoranda of understanding) under consideration related to these areas.”

The premier and the chancellor also “exchanged views on regional and global developments, and agreed on the central role of the United Nations in addressing the challenges of peace and security, peaceful settlement of disputes, sustainable development, climate action and protection and promotion of human rights”.

“They expressed their shared commitment to multilateralism and appreciated mutual support for each other’s candidatures, while working together with the international community for strengthening the UN system,” PID added.

PM Shehbaz thanked Stocker for the “meaningful and productive meetings” during the visit, which he said would lend fresh impetus to bilateral ties.

He also extended an invitation to the chancellor to undertake an official visit to Pakistan at his earliest convenience.

According to the PID statement, the premier and the chancellor co-chaired a meeting of chief executive officers (CEOs) from leading Austrian and Pakistani companies working in a wide range of areas.

“It was agreed to expand G2G (government to government), G2B (government to business) and B2B (business to business) engagements between the two countries through the effective utilisation of the existing platforms,” the statement read.

The prime minister invited the Austrian businesses and companies to participate in the upcoming EU-Pakistan Business Forum to be held in Islamabad in April this year.

‘Pakistan working to jointly ban illegal immigration’

Separately, PM Shehbaz stated that Pakistan was working with European partners to “jointly ban” illegal immigration.

Addressing the Pakistan-Austria Business Forum in Vienna, he affirmed Pakistan was “absolutely” against illegal immigration and was “working with our European friends — Austria, France, and Germany — to jointly ban this illegal immigration [and bring it] to a grinding halt”.

He assured Austria that Pakistan would fulfil its “demand for skilled labour” as per the international certification required by it.

Every year, many young Pakistanis leave the country via illegal routes in hopes of better employment opportunities.

A 2023 study by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the European Union (EU) found that 24,000 Pakistanis entered EU countries illegally over the past three years.

At the outset of his address, the premier stressed that Pakistan and Austria shared “long-standing friendly relations”.

The premier outlined the areas in which the two countries remained “proactively engaged”, including mining and minerals and renewable energy.

He detailed that he held meetings with the leadership of Austria, stating that he aims “to take many of these discussions to their logical conclusion”.

He noted that 6o per cent of Pakistan’s population was young and “needed modern training in their hands, including laptops, AI, and IT-led initiatives”.

PM Shehbaz highlighted that Pakistan held “huge potential” in the field of agriculture.

“Here, Austria can be a great partner, providing Pakistan with experience and modern technology to have value-addition in the field of citrus root, and make marmalade, juices and export them to Austria, the Middle East and other parts of the world”, the premier added.

Earlier on Monday, PM Shehbaz was welcomed by Stocker upon his arrival at the Austrian Chancellery and was presented with a guard of honour, the Prime Minister’s Office said.

The statement said that the national anthems of both countries were played at the arrival, and both leaders “introduced their respective delegations to each other before proceeding for tête-à-tête and the delegation-level talks”.

The premier also penned his remarks in the guest book at the Chancellery.

This visit marks 70 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

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Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) benchmark index, the KSE-100, closed in the red, down 5,149.80 points from its previous close.

The index lost 2.87 per cent from its previous close of 179,603.73 points to close at 174,453.93 points.

Trading volumes stood at 378,714,148 at a value of Rs37,382,003,783.

The intraday high was 179,969.22 points, and the intraday low was 173,574.26, representing a heightened amount of volatility.

The 1-year change was a positive 55.64pc while the year-to-date change was a rise of 0.23pc.

The top active stocks were led by K-Electric Limited, falling 4.91pc to Rs8.13 at a volume of 63,826,098, followed by Worldcall Telecom Limited falling 6.13pc to Rs1.53 at a volume of 62,243,488, and Bank of Punjab, falling 8.55pc to Rs33.25 at a volume of 56,166,941.

The top advancing stocks were led by Trust Securities & Brokerage Limited, rising 19.90pc to Rs2.29, followed by 786 Investments Limited, rising 10.03pc to Rs17.88, and Tariq Corporation Limited(Pref), rising 10.01pc to Rs16.93.

The top decliners were LSE Capital Limited (Right), down 22.61pc to Rs1.78; Gulistan Spinning Mills Limited, down 12.09pc to Rs11.58, and Kohinoor Industries Limited, down 10.01pc to Rs50.27.

Bears remained dominant in the market last week, with Topline Securities noting that the ongoing negative momentum was due to the “ongoing result session, where corporate results fell short of investors’ expectations”.

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Oil traded little changed on Monday, with investors weighing the market implications of upcoming US-Iran talks aimed at de-escalating tensions against a backdrop of expected supply increases from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (Opec+).

Brent crude futures edged up 3 cents to $67.78 a barrel by 03:58 GMT.

US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $62.91 a barrel, up 2 cents. There will be no WTI settlement on Monday due to a US holiday.

Last week, both benchmarks posted weekly declines, with Brent settling down about 0.5 per cent and WTI losing 1pc after comments from US President Donald Trump that Washington could make a deal with Tehran over the next month drove down prices on Thursday.

The two countries are due to hold a second round of talks in Geneva on Tuesday after renewing negotiations earlier this month aimed at tackling their decades-long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme and averting a new military confrontation.

Iran is pursuing a nuclear agreement with the US that delivers economic benefits for both sides, with energy and mining investments and aircraft purchases up for discussion, an Iranian diplomat was reported as saying on Sunday.

“With both sides expected to hold firm on their core red lines, expectations are low that a deal can be reached, and this is likely to be the calm before the storm,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.

The US has dispatched a second aircraft carrier to the region and is preparing for the possibility of a sustained military campaign if the talks do not succeed, US officials have told Reuters. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have warned that in case of strikes on Iranian territory, they could retaliate against any US military base.

With US-Iran tensions pushing up oil prices, Opec+ is leaning toward resuming output increases from April following a three-month halt, to meet peak summer demand, Reuters reported.

Activity in global financial markets is expected to be muted on Monday, with China, South Korea, and Taiwan closed for Lunar New Year holidays, in addition to Presidents Day in the United States.

“With Chinese demand cues largely absent this week, liquidity remains thin, and price action could stay erratic,” said Sugandha Sachdeva, founder of SS WealthStreet, a New Delhi-based research firm.

In the near term, geopolitical developments and inventory data will remain the primary drivers of volatility, keeping crude vulnerable to sharp two-way swings, Sachdeva added.

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