Pakistan and Bosnia on Tuesday agreed to enhance their bilateral ties in different fields, in defence, trade and investment. President Asif Ali Zardari and President of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bakir Izetbegovic were addressing a joint press conference following bilateral talks here at Aiwan-e-Sadr. They said both the countries agreed that there existed potential to be explored to enhance bilateral trade and co-operation in various fields including defence, energy and trade.
Zardari said: "We agree that there is great goodwill in the hearts of the people of our two countries that will help in further increasing relations." He said there was a strong desire on both sides to strengthen relations and take them forward. The President said there was also a need to transform the goodwill ties into concrete co-operation. Zardari said: "We appreciate the interest of Bosnian University of the Presidency to explore possibilities for co-operation in the educational field."
He said both the presidents, discussed global issues of common concern including terrorism, extremism and narcotics. "We agreed to continue our close co-operation in international forums on issues of mutual interest," said Zardari. Referring to co-operation in trade, the President Zardari said an MoU had been singed between the Foreign Trade Agency of Bosnia and the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industries.
He said: "We hope that Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) being negotiated between the two countries would also be finalised soon. He said the second round in this negotiations is expected to be held later this month." The President reiterated Pakistan's commitment to the unity and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Hezegovina. Replying to a question, Zardari said "Bosnia is gateway to Europe," therefore Pakistani entrepreneurs could use Bosnia as hub to get more market access to Europe. He said: "It's a win-win situation for both the countries to cooperate in trade due to their geographical location."
Replying to a question, Bosnian President Izetbegovic said Bosnia and Pakistan could cooperate even in energy sector. The Bosnian President especially mentioned the visit of President Asif Ali Zardari to Bosnia along with the then Prime Minister, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, in 1994 and said the Bosnian people still remembered the gesture of goodwill from the Pakistani leadership and people.
He said both the countries could also cooperate in banking sector to promote trade and economic activities. During his one-on-one meeting with President Izetbegovic, Zardari said that Pakistan valued its relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina and called for further strengthening bilateral co-operation between the two countries in all fields.
The President assured his Bosnian counterpart all out support and co-operation of Pakistan's government in boosting bilateral trade ties. The one-on-one meeting between the two presidents was followed by delegation-level talks here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr. Those who were present during the delegation-level meeting included Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, Defence Minister Syed Naveed Qamar, Interior Minister Dr A. Rehman Malik, Minister for Communication Arbab Alamgir, Secretary General to the President M. Salman Faruqui, Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani, Spokesperson to the President and Senator Farhatullah Babar.
The Bosnian President was assisted by Minister for Defence Muhammad Ibrahimovic, Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Pakistan Armin Limo, Boris Buha, advisor to the President (Serb), Enes Jahic, advisor to the President (Croat) and other members of President's delegation.
Briefing about the meeting, Spokesperson to the President, Senator Farhatullah Babar said that President Zardari reiterated that Pakistan stood by the people of Bosnia in their quest for peace and progress and said that Pakistan remained steadfast in its support to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia. The President said as Bosnia is located in Europe and that desire for integration with the West was a natural outcome of Bosnia's geographical reality. The President, however, said that its spirit had been attuned to the East as well and remarked that Bosnia was ideally suited to be a centre for peace and reconciliation between cultures and civilisations.
Zardari admired the maturity, tolerance and spirit of reconciliation of the people of Bosnia and its multi-cultural character and termed Bosnia an example of how diversity can be a source of strength and enrichment for the society.
The two leaders shared common concerns on terrorism and extremism and agreed on increased sharing of intelligence between the two countries in this regard.
President Zardari reiterated that militancy and heroin were nurtured by the international community as war weapons and called upon the international community to share responsibility and come forward to help Pakistan in curbing militancy and narcotics in the region. He said Pakistan was actively engaged in a concerted effort to curb the narcotics trade and the country would be hosting a regional conference in November this year on counter narcotics. He said counter terrorism and fighting narcotics was a battle of hearts and minds.
Commenting on trade ties between Pakistan and Bosnia, Zardari underscored the need for enhancing bilateral trade as the current level of bilateral trade of US $301,000 was not commensurate with close and friendly political relations between the two countries and there exist huge potential for robust trade and investment between the two countries.
He expressed hope that Preferential Trade Agreement being negotiated between the two countries would soon be finalised. While describing the signing of the MOUs as a significant step forward, they expressed the hope that it would go a long way in further strengthening bilateral equation especially defence and trade ties.
The President said that Pakistan can prove to be a great launching pad for marketing of Bosnian products in the region and similarly Bosnia could serve as a hub for Pakistani products in the heart of Europe, adding that the two countries had immense economic complementarities. The spokesperson said that Zardari emphasised the need for greater interaction among businessmen and entrepreneurs of the two countries to explore new avenues of trade and investment to the mutual benefit of the two countries. The two leaders also agreed to the opening of Bank branches in the two countries.
The President appreciated that Pakistan-Bosnia business seminar held in Islamabad early Tuesday morning had identified many areas of co-operation and explored practical measures to enhance trade and investment. Zardari said that Pakistan was fighting violent extremism and terrorism and at the same time it was focusing on changing the mindset of the youth who are easily influenced by radical ideologies, through education and intellectual activities.
Commenting on defence ties between the two countries, the President valued bilateral co-operation and understanding in defence field and asked for further enhancing defence co-operation. The President termed the signing of an MoU on defence co-operation between the two countries a significant step. Zardari said that indigenously developed smart card technology and biometric technology which help catalogued complete and correct information about citizens, was available in Pakistan and he offered to share this technology with Bosnia.
The biometric technology had proved to be a great factor in identifying and nabbing persons with criminal record, he further remarked. The President also emphasised the need for creating linkages in education sector. According to him, students from many countries come to study in around 140 universities of Pakistan while thousands of Pakistani students go abroad for studies every year. Discussing regional and global situation, the two leaders were unanimous in opinion that Pakistan and Bosnia had been promoting international peace and harmony and that the two countries enjoyed excellent co-operation at all international forums, especially at the United Nations.
Zardari said that Pakistan desired peace and stability as Peace in the region was a prerequisite for development and prosperity of the people. The Spokesperson said that President Bakir Izetbegovic expressed his gratitude to the President and the government of Pakistan for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to him and his delegation and expressed keen desire to further jack up the bilateral ties and mutual co-operation in all fields especially trade, investment, defence, Education and banking sector.