Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said the positive results of talks with China have started to come out as an agreement has been finalised to construct Bhasha Dam with the co-operation of China. He added that this project would be the second largest water project after Tarbela Dam.
The Foreign Minister said that 12 other small dams would also be constructed in the four provinces of country with the co-operation of China that would cost one billion dollars. He said that Pakistan is an agricultural country but unfortunately in the previous regimes no attention was paid on water projects. Now the current projects would create positive impact not only on the agriculture but also on the overall economy of the country. He further said that 10,000 tractors are being given to farmers in all the provinces through draw under Benazir Tractor Scheme and this step would also improve country's agriculture.
Talking about relations with India, Qureshi said that Indian High Commissioner was called in the Foreign Office and he had cleared that Pak-India Foreign Secretaries would first meet in New York and later on there would be a meeting at Foreign Ministers level.
"We are moving ahead keeping in view the strategy that these meetings should prove fruitful and in the better interest of both countries", he added. He further said that at the diplomatic level, world is demanding of India that it should solve the problems through dialogue.
Talking about his tour of Istanbul, Shah Mehmood said that all the foreign ministers present in the meeting had agreed with the view point of Pakistan and had declared the Swat and Malakand Operation a great success. They not only appreciated the Swat operation but also the strategy for the rehabilitation of the IDPs", he added.
Responding to a question that some people are criticising the role of Friends of Pakistan, Mehmood made it clear that this forum is not meant to collect money for Pakistan but to present the view point of Pakistan to the world. He also said that UAE has shown its consent to hold the session of Friends of Pakistan in January 2010.
To a question about energy crisis, he said, "It is unfortunate that we couldn't utilise our resources for the last 60 years. There are many points on Indus River where we can install hydel power plants to get thousands of mega watts electricity. We have huge coal reserves in Thar area to tackle the energy crisis, but Pakistan has very limited resources and we need foreign investment to take the best advantage of our natural resources. We need the help of private public partnership to utilise these resources."
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