Federal Finance Minister Syed Naveed Qamar is not hopeful of any quick financial support by the Friends of Pakistan who met on Friday here in the UN Building. "We have just succeeded in bringing them at one table and apprising them Pakistan's woes and problems," he said.
While talking to Business Recorder on Friday night at a local hotel where Pakistan's Ambassador to US Hussain Haqqani hosted an Iftar party in honour of President Zardari. On Friday, a permanent forum was launched in New York to help raise billions of dollars to avert a possible economic collapse in Pakistan, which will hold its first meeting in Abu Dhabi next month. Replying to a question, Naveed Qamar said there was some confusion over the release of $500 million and this also came under discussion in the meeting of Friends of Pakistan meeting.
According to Naveed Qamar, the German foreign minister, in the Friends of Pakistan meeting, had stressed that the World Bank must release $500 million immediately, which was not the correct position. Basically, Pakistan is expecting $500 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), whose board is meeting very soon, he added.
The foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Turkey, and representatives of the European Union and the United Nations met under the co-chairmanship of President Zardari and the foreign ministers of United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States, to launch the Friends of Pakistan Group. Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, however, said that Pakistan wanted to place its strategy before the Group to deal with current economic situation, but unfortunately did not come under discussion.