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Pakistan needs market access: Zardari tells Holbrooke
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday said the government looked forward to international assistance in facing challenges and called for trade and market access for its products to put its economy on the path of stability and prosperity.He was talking to Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke who called on him here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.
The president hoped that the legislation on ROZs, would be expedited and counter productive labour provision be softened. The president also emphasized on early reimbursement of arrears in Coalition Support Fund (CSF).
The president said that overpowering and neutralizing the extremist elements in affected areas must be accompanied with the creation of an environment so that extremism and militancy is not allowed to rear its head.
This, he said, can only be materialized through creation of opportunities for the people so that their energies could be utilized for creative and developmental purposes. He said that Pakistan had made huge human and material sacrifices to overcome the challenges of terrorism and militancy and its contribution towards counter terrorism is unmatched.
Matters relating to Pak-US bilateral relations, security situation in the region, war against terror and Pak-US Strategic Dialogue were discussed in the meeting.
Ambassador Holbrook during the meeting reiterated US long-term commitment to the strategic partnership with Pakistan and said that the US administration was conscious of the need for creating opportunities for the people in the conflict areas in order to win battle of hearts and minds.
Courtesy www.Geo.tv