News
Thursday, July 21, 2011
PM seeks UK’s help for holding Pak-EU summit in Islamabad* Gilani appreciates UK for continuous support towards Pakistan
* Says illiteracy, poverty root causes of terrorism
LONDON: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Wednesday called upon the United Kingdom to harness support for Pakistan to convene the next Pakistan-EU summit in Islamabad this year.
Talking to Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Minister for Europe David Lidington, the prime minister said that Pakistan looked forward to further building up its relationship with the European Union and had put forth a draft for a five-year engagement plan between Pakistan and the EU and hoped to conclude this as soon as possible. He appreciated Britain for its help towards securing greater access to European Union markets for Pakistan and hoped that, with British help, it would be able to achieve the revised GSP Plus (Generalised System of Preferences Plus) Scheme to increase exports.
Gilani said that the access to EU markets and GSP Plus status would greatly facilitate Pakistan in bringing about a better economy and creating jobs for youth, an official privy to the meeting told APP. The prime minister thanked the UK government for its unwavering support to Pakistan in this regard.
He mentioned that the operations against terrorists had adversely affected the country’s economy and added that trade was the most essential means to overcome the challenges which Pakistan was facing. Pakistan, he reiterated, needed the support of the international community to confront the security challenges rising out of terrorism.
He termed illiteracy and poverty as the root causes of terrorism, which needed to be addressed at the earliest. FCO Minister David Lidington said Britain would continue to plead Pakistan’s case in EU and beyond to see it integrated into global trade. He stressed the need for sustained efforts by Pakistan to reach the EU member status for its genuine demand for access to European markets. In order to strengthen the institutionalised arrangement of the Pakistan-EU summit, he called for concrete and feasible proposals to help establish a meaningful partnership with the EU.
In the same context, he mentioned that the visit of European Commission Vice President Baroness Catherine Ashton to Pakistan in the near future and Prime Minister Gilani’s visit to New York to attend the UN General Assembly session would provide an opportunity to establish contacts leading to fruitful discussions on the subject matter.
On Pakistan’s relations with neighbouring countries, Prime Minister Gilani said there had been great improvement in Pakistan’s ties with India and Afghanistan since a democratic government came into power in Pakistan in 2008. He said the dialogue process initiated by Pakistan with its neighbours, including India, greatly facilitated in building up trust between the countries and resulted in an approach towards resolving issues that were affecting the lives of the people of region.
Pakistan Muslim League-Functional President Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood hosted a dinner in the honour of Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani at his residence. Former Member of the UK’s House of Commons Chaudhry Sarwar, High Commissioner to UK Wajid Shamsul Hassan, a large number of MPs of the British Parliament and members of the civil society attended the dinner, which took place late on Tuesday night.
Political analysts termed the event important and called it evidence of the continuous support shown by PML-F for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and its policy of reconciliation.The prime minister arrived here on Monday and held meetings with the British leadership, including Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Foreign Secretary William Hague. As part of his private engagements, Prime Minister Gilani attended the convocation of his son Qasim Gilani at Brunel University. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk