Pakistan and Austria have agreed to further cement their bilateral relationship in diverse fields including economic cooperation, trade and investment, tourism, hospitality, education, IT, healthcare, human resource development and mobility.

The understanding was reached during a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Austrian Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker in Vienna on Monday.

Both leaders agreed to work towards the early finalization of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) covering these priority sectors. They also exchanged views on regional and global developments, reaffirming the central role of the United Nations in addressing challenges related to peace and security, peaceful dispute resolution, sustainable development, climate action and the promotion of human rights.

The two sides expressed their shared commitment to multilateralism and appreciated mutual support for each other’s candidatures at international forums, while pledging to work with the global community to strengthen the UN system.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chancellor Stocker also co-chaired a CEOs Forum comprising leading Austrian and Pakistani companies. The participating firms represented sectors such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, industrial manufacturing and construction, IT, textiles, surgical equipment, leather and sports goods, healthcare, tourism and hospitality, and food and agro-industries.

It was agreed to enhance government-to-government (G2G), government-to-business (G2B), and business-to-business (B2B) engagements through effective utilization of existing platforms.

The Prime Minister invited Austrian businesses to participate in the upcoming EU-Pakistan Business Forum scheduled to be held in Islamabad in April.

Shehbaz Sharif thanked Chancellor Stocker for the productive meetings, expressing hope that the visit would provide fresh momentum to bilateral ties. He also extended an invitation to the Austrian Chancellor to undertake an official visit to Pakistan at his earliest convenience.

Upon his arrival at the Federal Chancellery, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was received by Chancellor Stocker and accorded a guard of honour. He later held a restricted meeting with the Chancellor, followed by delegation-level talks.

• Naveed Akram faces 59 charges over December 14 attack.
• Akram appears via video link from Goulburn Correctional Centre.
• Akram seat smostly in silence during the proceedings.

A man accused of opening fire on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach in an attack that killed 15 people appeared in court for the first time on Monday, Australian media reported.

Naveed Akram, 24, faces 59 charges over the December 14 attack, including 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of wounding with intent to murder and a terror offence.

Police allege he carried out the mass shooting with his father Sajid, 50, who was shot dead at the scene.

During a brief status mention at a Sydney court on Monday, Akram appeared via video link from Goulburn Correctional Centre, a maximum-security prison southwest of Sydney, where he is being held on remand, media reported.

Akram wore prison greens and sat mostly in silence during the proceedings. He spoke only to acknowledge that he heard a discussion about extending non-publication orders for the details of the victims.

Outside court, Akram’s lawyer Ben Archbold said his client was doing “as well as he can be” given the “very onerous conditions” in prison.

Archbold said it was too early to say how Akram would plead and that he had not discussed details of the alleged attack with him.

“I haven’t spoken to him about the attack in that regard,” he told reporters.

“All that we’re doing at the moment is starting the process … we’re waiting for the brief to be served, there’s nothing more I can say.”

Archbold added that he had visited Akram in prison.

“He’s just a client, and he’s a client that needs to be represented. And we don’t let our personal view get in the way of our professional obligations. The matter has been adjourned, I have nothing more to say.”

The case is expected to return to court in April.

• Europeans seek stronger defence amid strained US ties.
• Rubio’s speech offers limited reassurance to Europeans.
• Zelenskiy reminds delegates of brutality of war.
  

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reflected a feeling of profound change among European leaders at this weekend’s Munich Security Conference when she said: “Some lines have been crossed that cannot be uncrossed anymore”.

Transatlantic ties have already been strained over the past year by Donald Trump’s return to the White House. But the US president’s push to annex Greenland dramatically increased European doubts about Washington’s commitment to protect the continent through the Nato alliance.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered limited reassurance to Europeans in his conference speech. Rubio said the US wanted to work with Europe and used a warmer tone than Vice President JD Vance last year. But he was critical of Europe’s recent political course and did not mention Nato, Russia or Moscow’s war in Ukraine —  issues on which a gulf has emerged between the US and its partners in the alliance.

With the war about to enter its fifth year and Moscow viewed as an increasing threat by its European neighbours, leaders from the continent declared they would accelerate efforts to boost their own defences and rely less on the US.

That, in theory, puts them on the same page as Trump. His administration says it expects Europe to take primary responsibility for the conventional defence of the continent in the coming years. In return, Washington will keep its nuclear umbrella over Europe and uphold Nato mutual defence pact.

A ‘European pillar’of Nato

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged their commitment in Munich to a stronger “European pillar” within Nato. But a stronger home-grown defence is also a hedge against Trump or a future US leader deciding not to defend Europe.

“This new beginning is right under all circumstances. It is right if the United States continues to distance itself. It is right as long as we cannotIn another sign of the nervousness surrounding US security commitments, Merz said he had begun talks with Macron about a European nuclear deterrence.

France holds the only truly independent nuclear deterrent in Europe since Britain’s Trident nuclear missiles are made and maintained by the United States.

Will deeds match words?

The big question for Europe and its leaders is whether they can match their words with deeds — to buy and develop new weapons systems, to fill gaps in their arsenals in areas such as long-range missiles and to coordinate their work. guarantee our own security on our own,” Merz told the conference on Friday.

The signs so far are mixed.

Driven by fears of Russia and exhortations from Trump, European countries have boosted defence spending. Nato members agreed last year to raise spending on core defence from 2% of GDP to 3.5% of GDP, with a further 1.5% to be spent on other security-related investments.

European defence spending has risen nearly 80% since before the war in Ukraine began, von der Leyen told the Munich conference.

European countries are forming consortia to build complex weapons systems. Defence ministers from France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden signed a letter of intent on Thursday to advance work on European Long-range Strike Approach (ELSA), a project to develop “deep strike” missiles.

On the sidelines of a Nato defence ministers’ meeting on Thursday, coalitions of European countries agreed to work together on four projects, including ballistic missile defence and air-launched munitions.

Projects struggle due to squabbles

But some high-profile pan-European projects have struggled to get off the ground. The future of the FCAS French-German-Spanish fighter jet project has been in the balance for months, with the partners unable to agree on the share of work for the companies involved.

Debates on European Union defence projects have been accompanied by wrangling over whether they should be limited to EU companies or open to others.

France has been the strongest advocate to “buy European” provisions while the likes of Germany and The Netherlands argue for a more open approach.

Amid the debates in the swanky Bayerischer Hof hotel, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy brought home the reality of modern war, surrounded by giant screens showing images and statistics of Russian attacks. Last month alone, Ukraine was attacked by more than 6,000 drones and 150 missiles.

“During this war, weapons evolve faster than political decisions meant to stop them,” he told the delegates.