President Asif Ali Zardari will pay a three day visit to France from August one for wide ranging talks with French leadership on bilateral, regional and global issues. It will be the second important engagement of President Zardari with French leaders following his visit to Paris in May last year.
Foreign Office Spokesman in weekly briefing said, "Asif Ali Zardari will exchange views with the French leadership on expanding relations in economic, trade and industry, science and technology and cultural fields." He said the two sides have been co-operating on counter-terrorism.
The spokesman said France is also a valuable partner in the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP) process. He said as member of the Aid to Pakistan Consortium, France has been extending financial assistance to Pakistan since 1961.
The volume of bilateral trade was 1.1 billion dollars last year. Replying to a question, the spokesman said programme of the President's visit to the United Kingdom is being finalised and the dates would be announced at an appropriate time and the visit has not been cancelled.