Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi met his British counterpart David Miliband on the margins of the Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting (CHOGM), in Port of Spain and discussed a whole range of issues of mutual interest Saturday.
The Foreign Minister briefed his British counterpart on the gains made by Pakistan against militancy, including the successful law enforcement operation in Malakand. Similar success is being achieved in Waziristan. This has been possible due to the national consensus against extremism forged by the democratic government and across the board resolve of the nation to eliminate terrorism.
The British Foreign Secretary updated the Foreign Minister on the forthcoming international conference on Afghanistan in London. Besides Afghanistan, Afghanistan's neighbours, regional countries and Nato allies are being invited to the January 28 conference.
The post-election scenario in Afghanistan in the context of governance, security, national integration and regional co-operation was also discussed. The Foreign Minister stressed that controlling drug trafficking and flow of weapons from Afghanistan to the neighbouring countries should be among the priorities of the incoming Afghan government.
The two Foreign Ministers previewed the forthcoming visit of the Prime Minister to the UK as part of the strategic dialogue process between the two countries. The Foreign Minister emphasised the need to have a mechanism of structured dialogue to make the process meaningful and result oriented.
They also talked about the forthcoming visit of Pakistan-UK Education Task Force to Pakistan which will help improve the standard of education in Pakistan. The British Foreign Secretary reassured his government's continued support for the FODP process.
The two Foreign Ministers shared views on the ways and means to strengthening and modernising the Commonwealth. They agreed that the participation of French President, Danish Prime Minister and UN Secretary General in the CHOGM "Special Session on Climate Change" was an acknowledgement of the Commonwealth's importance. The two Foreign Ministers expressed satisfaction at the" Port of Spain Declaration on Climate Change" adopted by CHOGM as a message of support to the COP-15.
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