President Asif Ali Zardari has said that political commitment of international community to help Pakistan would go a long way in fighting extremism and militancy. He said this while chairing a meeting jointly with Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani to discuss the forthcoming Friends of Pakistan and the Boao Economic Forum moots.
The president and the prime minister were of the view that the objective of the meeting was to ensure international community support to Pakistan's security and stability and to make the country economically more vibrant to ensure durable peace and stability in the region.
The meeting was briefed on the various proposals prepared by various ministries for the forthcoming meeting of Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP). Tarin briefed the meeting about the areas where the international community needs to focus during the Friends of Pakistan Group meeting in Tokyo.
The areas identified in the meeting included improving status of national security, energy, poverty alleviation through social protection, human resource development in the areas of education, health and population welfare, food security, infrastructure development and establishment of the Balochistan-NWFP Trust Fund.
The meeting also discussed the Boao Economic Forum from April 17-19, where President Zardari will represent the country. The theme of this year's event is Asia: Managing Beyond Crisis and the delegates are expected to debate and discuss the impact of the crisis in Asia and how the region can weather these challenges as effectively as possible.