Zardari and Miliband discuss trade, militancy issues

Monday, 11 January 2010 12:15

Economic Updates - Pak Major Financial News

KARACHI : President Asif Ali Zardari said on Sunday that Britain and Pakistan needed to work closely to further strengthen their partnership in various areas, particularly in trade and investment and educational development with a view to eliminating militancy and terrorism from Pakistan, and promoting peace and security in the region and the world.

The President said this during the meeting with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband who called on him here on Sunday evening at Bilawal House shortly after the President returned from a two-day visit to Syria.

The Spokesperson of the President, Farhatullah Babar, said that matters relating to the forthcoming London Conference on Afghanistan, bilateral issues and regional issues, the ongoing fight against militancy, and the second Pak-EU Summit also figured in the meeting.

The President said that any initiative on Afghanistan should ensure Afghan ownership of the process as well as territorial integrity of the country, national reconciliation and peace and stability and that its soil was not used against any of its neighbours. He said that an important issue was that of border management between Pakistan and Afghanistan in which the international community could be of great help.

The President underlined the need for setting up Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) in the tribal belt with the facility to export the manufactured goods to the markets of European Union countries. This, the President said, would help address the issues of poverty and unemployment in the tribal areas as an adjunct to stabilising and managing the border.

The President also called for Afghan peace and integration programme which offered incentives to the over two million Afghan refugees in Pakistan to return to their country. In the bilateral issues, the President also underlined the need for reducing time span for processing of Pakistanis visa applications particularly that of students and businessmen, addressing the perception of discrimination in the issuance of British visas.

He said that it was generally complained by Pakistani citizens that their passports had been retained for too long for visa processing during which period they could not undertake any foreign travel and they wanted that the passports be returned to them while the visa applications were being processed. The President said that after building national consensus on war against militancy the government had moved forward and achieved significant successes during the past months in the fight against militancy.

Farhat said that the President also underlined the need for setting up of a victims relief fund for the rehabilitation of citizens who have suffered grievously in the war against militancy, and urged the international community to assist Pakistan in this matter.

He said that UK could play a significant role in taking up the matter with the international community as the British Prime Minister had taken up with the EU countries the issue of allowing greater access to Pakistani manufactures to its markets. The President said that not only the security and law enforcing agencies had made great sacrifices but ordinary people and citizens had also made huge sacrifices and they deserved to be given peace dividend by way of international support in their rehabilitation and resettlement.

Our people need greater understanding and support of the international community to overcome the scars and wounds of war against militancy , he said. The President appreciated UK s development assistance worth 665 million pounds committed for 2009-2013 and additional 50 million assistance to support Pakistan s development plans. The President underlined the need for greater co-operation in the education sector as a long-term measure to fight the extremist mindset, and expressed hope that the Pakistan-UK Education Task Force, already set up, would make speedy progress.

Farhat said that the President also sought UK help at the forthcoming second Pak-EU Summit for making progress on Pakistan-EU free trade agreement as well as grant of increased market access to the EU markets in the GSP Plus programme.

David Miliband appreciated the efforts of the government and its security forces against militancy and reiterated British support to the democratic government in Pakistan in fighting militancy. He said that Britain would continue to support Pakistan in fighting militancy. The British Foreign Secretary also briefed the President about the forthcoming Conference in London on Afghanistan.