By NNN-APP,
New York : The Friends of Pakistan (FoP) Friday assured Pakistan of their support to the country in its fight against terrorism and well-coordinated international cooperation to help the country face the formidable challenges it was facing.
In a statement released here by the Department of State the Friends of Pakistan agreed that the Group should work in strategic partnership with the Pakistan and other partners in areas of stability, development, border areas, energy and institution-building.
The meeting attended by Foreign Ministers of Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Turkey, representatives of the European Union and the United Nations met under the co-chairmanship of President Zardari and Foreign Ministers of United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Friends of Pakistan Group made clear their determination to support the government in its efforts to consolidate democracy and to enable the people to benefit from this historic opportunity.
They congratulated President Zardari on his election as President and noted the significant opportunities for Pakistan under democratically-elected civilian leadership.
They also expressed outrage at acts of terrorism in Pakistan, in particular the recent attack on the Marriott, and made clear that the Group stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Pakistan in its fight against such terrorism.
The FoP welcomed focus of the Pakistani leadership on national development as a strategic priority and desire to promote peace and stability in both the country and the region.
The meeting noting the significant problem of violent extremism in Pakistan looks to Pakistan to lead the fight against extremism, with the support of the international community. It also expressed committment to work with the government to develop an over-arching Pakistani-led strategy and to provide technical assistance for this.
The meeting also agreed to develop a comprehensive approach to the economic and social development of Pakistan, with a particular focus on education, health, and human development.
The Group acknowledged the need for Pakistan to undertake serious economic reform and agreed to look at improved trade access for Pakistan to their markets besides agreeing to encourage private sector involvement in Pakistan’s development.
The meeting also noted the importance of the border areas to the overall territorial integrity of Pakistan, as well as the impact the situation there was having beyond Pakistan.
The Group agreed to form a partnership with Pakistan to develop a comprehensive and co-ordinated approach to the security, development, and political needs of the border.
In the area of energy, they agreed to look at ways of addressing Pakistan’s energy shortfall.
The Group agreed on the importance of supporting Pakistan’s democratic institutions, including support of economic reform, rule of law, good governance and countering extremism.
At the request of Pakistan, the Group agreed that a special representative be appointed from a member nation or organisation to take forward the above agenda and in this regard decided to meet again in Abu Dhabi within a month to determine a detailed programme of work to take forward the above agenda.