Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's visit to France is expected to result in a declaration that envisages greater financial and trade support, institutional cooperation in various sectors and the establishment of an administrative and a trade committee. The declaration when announced would consist of a host of measures that would lay the groundwork for enhanced cooperation in these fields.
However, realisation of this objective - transformation of cooperation into an economic reality - would require intense work from both countries. It maybe recalled that during the visit of the Chinese premier to Pakistan in December last year a host of memoranda of understanding were signed amidst much fanfare. However, enhanced economic cooperation envisioning a trade expansion to 10 billion dollars between the two countries has yet to show the beginnings of materialising.
In marked contrast to China, France's engagement in Pakistan's development has been minimal to date and the government would have to jump-start the economy through providing an environment conducive to business activity if it wants to take advantage of the declaration. It is unfortunate that the economy remains a challenge and it is unlikely that the Prime Minister's call to French investors to benefit from incentives would be heeded given the present state of the economy and security concerns.
Pakistan has traditionally been an important client for France's defence industry. Thus our armed forces including the Navy and Air Force have bought billions of dollars worth of defence equipment from France. India, because of its purchasing power, has become a major player on the world political scene and in recent months it hosted a range of Western leaders who lambasted Pakistan in a blatant effort to curry trade deals with India. Pakistan must learn to use to counter such tactic without getting into an arms race.
The Prime Minister's visit to France is however being criticised in the country because of its timing. It was a mere two days after the US sent two teams of 12 SEALS transported by helicopters to a walled compound in Abbottabad, to kill the most wanted man in the world, Osama bin Laden. No one, inside Pakistani officialdom or members of the international community, has expressed any remorse over the killing of a man who was directly responsible for thousands of deaths world-wide.
Those in favour of Prime Minister's non-postponement of the visit say that he was asked this question by the world's media and he may just get a wider audience if he made a statement on the Osama killing while on a state visit to France. When asked this expected question, the prime minister stated that the world's intelligence agencies were working together. Hence, the intelligence failure was global, not just ours.
French diplomats expressed dissatisfaction about Pakistan foreign policy's strong tilt towards the US. As far as trade relations between the two countries are concerned - the closure of French banks Societe Generale and Banque Indosuez in the aftermath of the nuclear test was a setback. Our central bank has tried to court Credit Lyonnais as well as Banque Nationale Paribas to come to Pakistan.
France, along with Portugal and Spain, has been in the forefront in denying Pakistan 'poor nation status' to provide Pakistani textile products the same concessions as provided to Bangladesh. One can only hope PM Gilani would have raised this thorny issue with French President Nicolas Sarkozy - successfully persuading France to join ranks with the UK and Germany on this trade access issue.
Another tricky question raised with PM Gilani was related to the import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tender. It may be recalled that GDF Suez had purportedly made the best offer. Here, the PM took protection behind the intervention of the Supreme Court that led to annulment of the LNG tender.
The fault lies with Gilani's government for not following the procurement rules governing such transactions. If the process provided under the Pakistan Procurement Rules Act 2002 had been followed in letter and in spirit the inordinate delay and later scrapping of the LNG tender might not have taken place.