New French envoy calls on Prime Minister

Newly appointed Ambassador of French to Pakistan, Philippe Thieband called on Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani at the Prime Minister's House on Tuesday and exchanged views on bilateral relations with the commitment that the multifaceted co-operation between the two countries should be further enhanced in the future.
The Prime Minister recalled his visit to France where he held very productive discussions with the French President and the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister appreciated the support of the French government within the fold of the European Union for pro-actively pursuing the grant of waiver to Pakistani exports in the EU market. The Prime Minister said that Pakistan was looking forward to the visit of the French Trade Minister. The Prime Minister, during the meeting, made the special mention of the French Government's assistance to the earthquake and flood victims and also to the IDPs of Malakand Division. The 2.5 million IDPs were back to their homes just within a couple of months whereas about 3 million Afghan refugees were still in Pakistan and the world had forgotten about them, the Prime Minister maintained. The Prime Minister sought the French co-operation in the fields of energy, trade and defence, adding that there was immense potential to explore in the aforementioned sectors.
The Prime Minister expressed deep sense of gratitude to the French government leadership in the OBL incident by sending positive messaging and also engaging other EU partners to extend support to Pakistan.
The Prime Minister said that Pakistan suffered the most in the war on terror in terms of lives and the economy. However, Pakistani nation has the will, capacity and resolve to defeat the scourges of militancy and extremism, he stated. The Prime Minister expressed his best wishes for the new ambassador and hoped that during his stay, the relations between both countries would be further improved for the benefit of people of two countries. The French ambassador appreciated the role of Pakistan in the war on terror adding that the country's contributions for peace-keeping were commendable.-PR