Franco-German experience

The French government has given no formal authorisation to Electricite de France (EDF) to explore civil nuclear projects in Pakistan, so stated Francois Pupponi, French parliamentarian and chair of France-Pakistan Friendship group as Philippe Nauche, Chair of the France-Afghanistan Friendship group nodded his agreement.
The EDF, a French utility company mainly owned by the French government has a 120,000 MW capacity, is the world's largest energy producer, out of which 84.7 percent is sourced to nuclear and 8.3 percent to renewable energy with hydel accounting for 4.6 percent. Supporting civilian nuclear energy in other countries is a political decision in France, Pupponi further clarified.
The two French parliamentarians were meeting an eight-member delegation from Pakistan and Afghanistan - two journalists and two working for the government from each country - on the invitation of the Franco-German governments to draw valuable lessons from the existing ties between Germany and France in spite of numerous armed conflicts in their history. When asked, Pupponi and Nauche expressed surprise at limiting the delegation to Pakistan and Afghanistan and agreed that without Indian participation the possibility of drawing lessons from the Franco-German experience remained limited. This view was shared by the representative from the German Konrad Adenauer Stifting e.V who served in Afghanistan. The consensus: India is a very important player in Pak-Afghan relations and for effective results a meaningful engagement must include India.
The two French parliamentarians credibly pointed out that the economy must be allowed to pave the way for improving ties between the peoples of the two countries. Economic ties remain a major component of Franco-German relations though bilateral ties have been partly subsumed into the dominant role the two nations play within the European Union context. The officials that I met as part of the delegation emphasised the close ties enjoyed between the two countries' officialdom including a routine exchange of officials in key ministries (the delegation met with German officials on deputation to the French Foreign Office - Quai d'Orsay) as well as the management of the jointly-owned and run television station Aarte. I asked one of the German officials working in the audit department in Quai d'Orsay whether she was in the position of a decision maker to which she responded that "no but the position has strengthened my knowledge of how the French work." The delegation visited the historical city of Strasbourg - a city that was violently disputed between the two countries in the past and a city that is a symbol of German-French culture today where Aaarte is headquartered.
However, while conversing with Berliners that I met on the streets I got the distinct impression that they feel they are singled out while visiting France with one pedestrian mumbling that "they consider us gauche and given to much beer drinking." The French, again those I met on the streets, felt their cultural heritage was richer and their food and drink of choice more elegant, wine considered a more refined drink than beer, relative to German love for sausages, sauerkraut and beer. The French did not dwell on their treatment when on a visit to Germany leaving one with the impression that their experiences were only unfavourable with respect to their taste buds.
The state of affairs of Pak-Afghan ties was markedly different and this was pointed out to those the delegation met on both the French and the German side of the open border. In our regional context, Pakistan-Afghanistan officialdom is in conflict, and Pupponi put it succinctly when he said that symbols are important, which he further clarified by maintaining that body language during meetings of heads of government is important - a closeness that was missing as long as Hamid Karzai was the president of Afghanistan. However two of the four Afghan participants persistently accused Pakistan of violating the Durand Line, which not only brought to my mind the current undisputed status of Strasbourg in French hands but also re-emphasised the official positions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, which is a source of conflict. The family of one of these two Afghans had sought sanctuary in Pakistan during the Soviet invasion and when reminded that Pakistan played host to over 3 million Afghans at one time with lakhs of Afghans still residing in Pakistan today in spite of our severe economic crisis there was no response. Be that as it may, Pakistan's role in Afghanistan's internal affairs over decades has been far from salutary, and the negative fallout of such a flawed policy is being witnessed and debated in Pakistan today.
Those who maintain that Pakistan, Afghanistan do not meet the same economic conditions as those prevalent in Franco-German ties need reminding that after the second world war Germany was split into two, its economy destroyed with German currency so worthless that a typical German would take the currency in baskets and return with a handful of goods. Poverty, smuggling, low education levels, corruption and indeed the pervasive presence of terrorists on Pak-Afghan soil simply muddies the waters further. Be that as it may, Pakistan and Afghanistan can draw parallels from the Franco-German experience and begin to forge close economic ties as the way forward.
I was happy to be part of the Pakistan delegation and if truth be told almost did not make it. My story is as follows: I sent an email to the German Embassy's head of press and cultural section stating that as I had requested a one-year multiple and instead received a 15-day single entry, (a request based on a need to visit ailing relatives in London) made me "feel slighted" and "unable to take advantage of your invite". Less than half an hour later I received a response from him in undiluted, undiplomatic vitriol: "my personal gut feeling says: It will be difficult to cooperate with her anyway - this mail of Ms Anjum Ibrahim's is simply an insult. In my humble personal opinion, we should declare her persona non grata and just continue with only three Pakistani participants." While I have not heard from this 'diplomat' since I would like to state that had it not been for the diplomatic and highly persuasive skills of the German officer's French counterpart Nathalie Dupont I would not have gone and indeed would have missed the warmth, efficiency and support extended by the German Federal Foreign Office, Goethe Institut and indeed those I met and befriended on the streets of Berlin. The moral: a few bad eggs on the Afghan side must not be allowed to dictate our collective feelings for the country.
(The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of the newspaper)