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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and European Council President Antonio Costa spoke by phone Monday, with PM Sharif outlining the latest steps Islamabad has taken to reduce tensions in the Middle East, and the two leaders exchanging views on what the widening conflict means for the global economy. According to an official statement released by the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office, both leaders said they were deeply worried about the fighting involving Iran and the Gulf states and called for the situation to be settled through &quot;dialogue and diplomacy.&quot; <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2038584095127879726&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=644a46dd8d0d79b531cbdf97a9fc7c9faa515e78&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Islamabad: 30 March 2026. Telephone call between the Prime Minister and the President of the EU Council Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif received a telephone call from H.E. Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, this afternoon. During their warm and cordial&hellip; <a href="https://t.co/V1OV32WFoq" style="color: rgb(0, 115, 230);">pic.twitter.com/V1OV32WFoq</a>&mdash; Prime Minister&#39;s Office (@PakPMO) <a href="https://twitter.com/PakPMO/status/2038584095127879726?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" style="color: rgb(0, 115, 230);">March 30, 2026</a></blockquote></div> Costa backed Pakistan&#39;s peacemaking role, saying the European Council stood behind every diplomatic channel working to bring order back to the region. PM Sharif told Costa that Islamabad places considerable weight on its ties with the European Union. He also brought up a Brussels trip he was forced to postpone last month. The European Council President said he expected to host the prime minister in the Belgian capital &quot;on mutually convenient dates.&quot; PM Sharif talked about the GSP+, the EU&#39;s preferential trade arrangement for vulnerable developing economies. The prime minister said he planned to open the first Pakistan-EU Business Forum in Islamabad on April 28-29.

The President of the European Council António Costa's opening remarks to the European Parliament on 25 March 2026 in Brussels. (EU Council Newsroom)

Foreign Affairs

The European Council endorsed Pakistan's push for dialog to de-escalate the Middle East crisis, with Brussels signaling support for all efforts to pull the region back from the brink.

Articles tagged with "European Council"

PM Sharif briefs European Council president on Pakistan's US-Iran mediation efforts

PM Sharif briefs European Council president on Pakistan's US-Iran mediation efforts