.:: SAMAA - Zardari, Gilani jointly chair meeting over Friends of Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani jointly chaired a meeting in the Presidency Friday to review progress on decisions taken in a previously held meeting on the preparatory work for the Friends of Democratic Pakistan Group.

Those who participated in the meeting besides the President and the Prime Minister included Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Advisor Finance Shaukat Tarin, Advisor to Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik, Advisor to PM for Water Resources Kamal Majidullah, Secretary General Salman Farooqi, Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, Senator Ms. Sughra Imam, Secretary Interior Syed Kamal Shah, Chairman WAPDA Shakil Durrani and senior officials of the relevant Ministries.

The Advisor Finance Shaukat Tarin briefed the meeting about the areas that will be brought to the attention of the international community needing special attention of the Friends of Pakistan Group.

These areas include poverty alleviation through social protection, improving the state of national security, human resource development in the areas of education, health and population welfare, food security, infrastructure development and establishment of the Balochistan-NWFP Trust Fund.

Both Zardari and Gilani underlined the need for updating the brief on Pakistan’s need for international assistance to make Pakistan economically more vibrant which can ensure durable peace and stability in the region.

The President appreciated the efforts made by the team in preparing the document and said that it was an important component in the strategy to fight militants.

The countries and international bodies included in the Friends of Pakistan group are the US, UK, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, EU, EC and UN. -APP