The Ambassador of France to Pakistan Martine Dorance said that "it is my mission to further strengthen relations between Pakistan and France. Through our counsel missions in different cities of Pakistan we are trying hard to achieve the goal." Martine Dorance was speaking on 'Pakistan-French relations in the new millennium' organised by the Karachi Council on Foreign Relations on 5th April 2016.
She said that "We have good cooperation with Pakistan in terms of culture and education. We received many students from Pakistan last year and in collaboration with Higher Education Commission of Pakistan and we are planning to further increase this number," she said.
Elaborating upon the cooperation on education and culture she said that "France has launched a programme of 'Open Doors' which is a scholar exchange programme. We also had a meeting with Minister of Culture, Sindh, to collectively work on archaeology and organise exhibition and conference in this regard," she mentioned.
"France is thankful to Pakistan for sympathies after Paris attacks. Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif visited French Embassy personally and conveyed his kind words for the victims of Paris attacks," she mentioned. Commenting on the recent terrorist activities, Dorance said that terrorism is a global challenge. "Our government is trying to disconnect the terrorists from Islam. It is difficult for common people to understand. France is proud of its large Muslim community," she added.
Talking about the relations between Pakistan and France, Dorance said that France has deep relations with Pakistan. France was among the first countries to open its embassy in Pakistan after Pakistan's independence. "Both countries have long-standing relationship and have no dispute or misunderstanding in sharing past. Relations between both countries are on very good track." Apart from the Pakistan French Business Alliance, Ambassador said that "Business France is a new agency which will soon come to Pakistan to analyse how trade and economy can be improved. We are also looking at the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor carefully." In her opinion CPEC will bring great change not only in Pakistan but to the entire region. This may also give India a chance to look at Pakistan from a 'different eye'.
Answering a question about French support on India's permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council, the ambassador mentioned that France is a country which is able to have good relations with both India and Pakistan. France supports change in the UNSC as the world has changed and there is a need to incorporate major countries of Asia, Africa and South America in UNSC which are not part of it. UNSC should be enlarged and accept more countries. In Asia, Pakistan has not applied for a permanent seat in Security Council. She said.
In response to a question about why France is not as keen as it should be to accommodate refugees, the ambassador told the audience that France has accepted people from all over the world. "To accept people in your own house you have to give them something. The question is whether France would be able to give house, education, job etc to the refugees?" she said, "We cannot accept more people if we cannot provide them facilities. We have to be pragmatic," she added. Comparing the situation with Germany she said that Germany has a different case. Its economy is better and the country needs people on its territory for economic purpose. France's situation is however different.-PR