News :End to terror govt’s priority, says Zardari
President Asif Ali Zardari Monday said Pakistan is dedicated to curb militancy and radicalism at every cost, adding that his country’s successes and sacrifices are vivid reflection of the government’s focus on eliminating the scourge of terrorism.
He said this during a meeting with Australian Defence Minister Senator John Faulkner, who called on the president here at Aiwan-e-Sadr.
Matters regarding bilateral relations, Pakistan’s fight against militancy and extremism and regional situation were discuss during the gathering.
The president called for further enhancing Pakistan-Australia bilateral partnership in all fields particularly defence, trade, investment, agriculture, energy and education sectors.
He appreciated the Australian humanitarian assistance for the IDPs and cooperation in the fields of education, agriculture and vocational preparation and said that heavy investments are wanted in the field of education to defeat the militant and extremist mindset in the long run.
The president expressed satisfaction on the growing relationship between the two countries in various fields and thank the Australian government for enhancing development assistance to A$120 million over two years, offering defence post-graduate scholarship and as long as 100 scholarships in the field of agriculture.
President Zardari said that the MoU on Pakistan-Australian Development Partnership that has been finalised would help in further cement the bilateral relations between the two countries.
He expressed the hope that MoUs in other possible areas of collaboration may also be finalised soon to fully utilise the obtainable level of cooperation between the two countries.
Australian Defence Minister Senator John Faulkner appreciated Pakistan’s commitment to eliminate militancy and assured continued support of the Australian government to Pakistan in fighting the menace of terrorism.
The meeting was also attended by Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar, Minister for Defence Production Abdul Qayyum Khan Jatoi, Secretary General to the President M Salman Farouqi, Secretary Defence Lt Gen (R) Syed Athar Ali, Secretary Foreign Affairs Salman Bashir, Spokesperson to the President former Senator Farhatullah Babar and senior government officials.
The Australian defence Minister was accompanied by Dr Ian Watt, Secretary, Department of Defence, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, Chief Of Australian Defence Force, Tim George, Australian High Commissioner in Islamabad and other officials of Australian High Commission in Pakistan.
