President Asif Ali Zardari will be leaving on a two-day visit to Russia on June 14 for participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Yakaterinburg. On the sidelines of the summit, the President is expected to meet Presidents of Russia, China, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.
The President will also visit Brussels for three days from June 17, where the EU summit will take up the issue of Pakistani goods' export, particularly textiles to European Union countries.
Spokesperson of the President, Farhatullah Babar said the President was likely to meet heads of states of a number of countries and representatives of international bodies on the sidelines of the summit in Brussels. The spokesperson said that reports in a section of the media that the President would be visiting six countries next week were not correct.
He said, "The EU summit holds special importance for the country as it will also consider Pakistan's case for greater access to its products particularly textile manufactures to the markets of European countries." The spokesperson said, "Pakistan has made out a case for economic development as a key to fighting militancy and insisted on trade instead of aid and loans as the vehicle for economic uplift.
The Three-D policy endorsed by the Parliament envisages Dialogue, Development and Deterrence as the policy to contain militancy and extremism." He said, "during the President's recent visit to the US, the UK and France market access was emphasised upon the leaders of the countries eliciting favourable response.
French President Sarkozi pledged to plead Pakistan's case at the EU summit and the British Prime Minister addressed a personal letter to the EU, urging the member countries to seriously and urgently consider this issue at the summit for helping Pakistan in the fight against militancy."
"President Zardari has been pleading with the world leaders that Pakistan's industry and exports had been undermined first due to the Afghan war in the 80s in which Pakistan was a partner with the international community, and after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan due to spill over to Pakistan and rise of militancy," he said
He said, "Our exports would have been four times what they are today had Pakistan not joined the international community in the fight against the Soviet Empire. The international community now owes it to Pakistan to help it overcome its economic woes by liberalising the import regime of Pakistani goods to their markets."
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