Acting President Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday called on Italy to accelerate visa processing for Pakistani nationals and expand its skilled worker quota, highlighting these as key areas for cooperation during a meeting with Italian Ambassador Ms. Marilina Armellin.

During the discussion at Aiwan-e-Sadr, the Acting President emphasised the need for a more efficient visa system and looked forward to an enhanced allocation for Pakistani professionals under a forthcoming labour migration programme, for which a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is currently being processed between the two nations.

Ambassador Armellin acknowledged her country”s shortage of skilled manpower, particularly in scientific, IT-related, and healthcare fields. She conveyed that Italian institutions welcomed initiatives by Pakistani universities to offer Italian language courses to improve the employment prospects of graduates.

Mr Gilani also underscored Pakistan’s keen interest in expanding trade and investment ties, noting the presence of several established Italian companies in the country’s pharmaceutical, oil and gas, and railway sectors.

The dialogue recognised over 75 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which Mr Gilani described as being rooted in long-standing friendship and cooperation. He expressed appreciation for Italy’s support on multilateral platforms and thanked the Italian government for hosting a Pakistani diaspora community numbering more than 300,000.

The Italian envoy reciprocated the sentiment, stating that Italy deeply cherishes its enduring friendship with Pakistan and noted that it was among the first countries with which the Italian Republic established diplomatic relations.

Highlighting educational links, she shared that in 2025 alone, Italy issued over 15,000 visas to Pakistani students admitted to postgraduate and PhD programmes at Italian universities.

The meeting concluded with a reaffirmed shared commitment to further deepen bilateral cooperation across education, migration, trade, and people-to-people exchanges.