Greece–Pakistan relations
Encyclopedia
Greece
and Pakistan
enjoy close, warm and friendly relations. Both countries have old and historical ties.
and honorary consulates in Karachi
and Lahore
, whereas Pakistan has an embassy in Athens
and a honorary consulate in Thessaloniki
.
in northern Pakistan, he furthermore fought and defeated King Porus in the Battle of Hydaspes, near the city of Jhelum
in Pakistan. Alexander the Great, also founded the cities of Nicaea
, in what is now present-day Mong and Bucephala
, in the memory of his beloved horse Buchepalus, in what is present-day Jalalpur Sharif
, near Jhelum
.
After the departure of Alexander the Great, Pakistan became part of the Greek Seleucid dynasty
.After the reign of Seleucids, Pakistan was conquered by the Indo-Greeks who reigned till 1st century AD and were the last Greeks
to rule Pakistan, until being defeated by the Scythians.
The Greeks
had the following cities as their capitals in Pakistan: Sirkap
/Taxila
, Sagala
/Sialkot
and Pushkalavati
/Peucela.
and Pakistan
have good bilateral relations. The agreement on the educative and cultural collaboration between Greece and Pakistan. The agreement is referred on the common cultural bonds between the two countries, while it forecasts the mission of Greek experts in Pakistan, intending to the concretisation of researches with Pakistan scientists, which will be focused in discoveries of the Hellenistic period. The agreement on Police Collaboration has been signed between Greece and Pakistan, the signature of agreement in question forecasts the aid of collaboration between the authorities of the two countries intending to fight the illegal trafficking of persons (illegal immigration), drug trafficking and terrorism.
.
valleys. Greece has donated an amount of €1,400,000 to Pakistan, after the devastating Kashmir earthquake in 2005. Greece has also donated €100,000 to Pakistan in the aftermath of the disastrous 2010 Pakistan floods
.
As a legacy of Alexander the Great's memory, a monument has been built in Jalalpur Sharif
by the Greek Government to honour the valiant warrior of the ancient world.
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
enjoy close, warm and friendly relations. Both countries have old and historical ties.
Diplomatic Missions
Pakistan's first Embassy in Athens was opened in 1975 whereas Greece established an Embassy in Islamabad in 1987. Greece has an embassy in IslamabadIslamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
and honorary consulates in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
and Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, whereas Pakistan has an embassy in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
and a honorary consulate in Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
.
History
The first form of contact established between Greece and Pakistan was in 326 BCE, when Alexander the Great invaded Punjab province and conquered the kingdom of GandharaGandhara
Gandhāra , is the name of an ancient kingdom , located in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau and on the Kabul River...
in northern Pakistan, he furthermore fought and defeated King Porus in the Battle of Hydaspes, near the city of Jhelum
Jhelum
Jhelum or Jehlum may refer to:* Jhelum, a city in Pakistan on the banks of the Jhelum River* Jhelum District, an administrative division in Punjab, Pakistan surrounding the city of Jhelum...
in Pakistan. Alexander the Great, also founded the cities of Nicaea
Nicaea
Nicaea or Nikaia may be:*The ancient name of several places, including:** İznik, Turkey - formerly Nicaea capital of the Empire of Nicaea**Nice, France**Nicaea, Locris, a fortress city of the Locri Epicnemidii...
, in what is now present-day Mong and Bucephala
Alexandria Bucephalous
Alexandria Bucephalous, or Alexandria Bucephalus or Alexandria Bucephala or Bucephala or Bucephalia, was a city founded by Alexander the Great in memory of his beloved horse Bucephalus. Founded in May 326 BC, the town was located on the Hydaspes , east of the Indus River. Bucephalus had died after...
, in the memory of his beloved horse Buchepalus, in what is present-day Jalalpur Sharif
Jalalpur Sharif
Jalalpur Sharif is a small town located in Jhelum, and is a Union Council of Pind Dadan Khan Tehsil in Jhelum District, Punjab province, Pakistan...
, near Jhelum
Jhelum
Jhelum or Jehlum may refer to:* Jhelum, a city in Pakistan on the banks of the Jhelum River* Jhelum District, an administrative division in Punjab, Pakistan surrounding the city of Jhelum...
.
After the departure of Alexander the Great, Pakistan became part of the Greek Seleucid dynasty
Seleucid dynasty
The Seleucid dynasty or the Seleucidae was a Greek Macedonian royal family, founded by Seleucus I Nicator , which ruled the Seleucid Kingdom centered in the Near East and regions of the Asian part of the earlier Achaemenid Persian Empire during the Hellenistic period.-History:Seleucus was an...
.After the reign of Seleucids, Pakistan was conquered by the Indo-Greeks who reigned till 1st century AD and were the last Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
to rule Pakistan, until being defeated by the Scythians.
The Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
had the following cities as their capitals in Pakistan: Sirkap
Sirkap
Sirkap is the name of an archaeological site on the bank opposite to the city of Taxila, Punjab, Pakistan.The city of Sirkap was built by the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius after he invaded ancient India around 180 BC. Demetrius founded in the northern and northwestern Indian subcontinent an...
/Taxila
Taxila
Taxila is a Tehsil in the Rawalpindi District of Punjab province of Pakistan. It is an important archaeological site.Taxila is situated about northwest of Islamabad Capital Territory and Rawalpindi in Panjab; just off the Grand Trunk Road...
, Sagala
Sagala
Sagala or Sangala, the ancient Greek name for the modern city of Sialkot in present day Pakistan, was a city of located in northern Punjab, Pakistan...
/Sialkot
Sialkot
Sialkot is a city in Pakistan situated in the north-east of the Punjab province at the foothills of snow-covered peaks of Kashmir near the Chenab river. It is the capital of Sialkot District. The city is about north-west of Lahore and only a few kilometers from Indian-controlled Jammu.The...
and Pushkalavati
Pushkalavati
Pushkalavati is an ancient site situated in Peshawar valley in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located on the banks of Swat River, near its junction with Kabul River, now it is known as Charsadda...
/Peucela.
Bilateral relations
GreeceGreece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
have good bilateral relations. The agreement on the educative and cultural collaboration between Greece and Pakistan. The agreement is referred on the common cultural bonds between the two countries, while it forecasts the mission of Greek experts in Pakistan, intending to the concretisation of researches with Pakistan scientists, which will be focused in discoveries of the Hellenistic period. The agreement on Police Collaboration has been signed between Greece and Pakistan, the signature of agreement in question forecasts the aid of collaboration between the authorities of the two countries intending to fight the illegal trafficking of persons (illegal immigration), drug trafficking and terrorism.
Economic relations
The volume of bilateral trade continues to be relatively small, although it has increased significantly. Most trade is in fabrics, ready-to-wear clothing, bedcovers and machine tools. This situation is willing to be reversed with the programmed foundation of the Economic and Commercial Office Affairs in IslamabadIslamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
.
Development aid to Pakistan
The International Development Cooperation Department and the Greek Embassy provide funding for the development project run by the NGO Greek Volunteers in the KalashKalash
Kalasha or Kalash may refer to:*Kalash people of Chitral, northern Pakistan**Kalasha **Kalash language, also known as Kalasha-mondr**Kalasha Desh, their valleys*Nuristani people of Nuristan, Afghanistan...
valleys. Greece has donated an amount of €1,400,000 to Pakistan, after the devastating Kashmir earthquake in 2005. Greece has also donated €100,000 to Pakistan in the aftermath of the disastrous 2010 Pakistan floods
2010 Pakistan floods
The 2010 Pakistan floods began in late July 2010, resulting from heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan regions of Pakistan and affected the Indus River basin. Approximately one-fifth of Pakistan's total land area was underwater, approximately...
.
Cultural relations
Greeks and Pakistanis share common cultural and historical bonds. There are over 80,000 Pakistani immigrants resident in Greece, they primarily belong to the Punjab province. The Pakistanis in Greece are one of the largest Muslim communities in Greece. In 2004 some 700 tourist visas were issued to Pakistanis for Greece.As a legacy of Alexander the Great's memory, a monument has been built in Jalalpur Sharif
Jalalpur Sharif
Jalalpur Sharif is a small town located in Jhelum, and is a Union Council of Pind Dadan Khan Tehsil in Jhelum District, Punjab province, Pakistan...
by the Greek Government to honour the valiant warrior of the ancient world.
See also
- Foreign relations of PakistanForeign relations of PakistanPakistan is the second largest Muslim country in terms of population , and its status as a declared nuclear power, being the only Islamic nation to have that status, plays a part in its international role....
- Foreign relations of GreeceForeign relations of GreeceProminent issues in Greek foreign policy include the enduring dispute over Cyprus and differences with Turkey over the Aegean, the dispute over the name of the Republic of Macedonia , and relations with the United States.-Overview:Greece has diplomatic relations with almost all the...
- Pakistanis in Greece