Chair’s Statement at the Ministerial meeting of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan, Tokyo- 17 April 2009

(2009-04-17)

A Ministerial meeting of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan was held in Tokyo on 17 April 2009 under the chairmanship of the President of Pakistan H.E. Mr. Asif Ali Zardari. The Prime Minister of Japan H.E. Mr. Taro Aso addressed the meeting.

The President of Pakistan and all the participants expressed their appreciation and deep gratitude to Prime Minister Taro Aso and the Government of Japan for the excellent arrangements made for the Ministerial meeting.

The President of Pakistan expressed his gratitude on behalf of the people of Pakistan to the Friends of Democratic Pakistan for lending their individual and collective support to Pakistan enabling it to realize the vision of a democratic, progressive, welfare state, committed to the consolidation of democratic institutions, the rule of law, good governance, achieving socio-economic advancement, economic reform, and overcoming the challenges posed by terrorism and extremism.

In his address to the Friends of Democratic Pakistan, the President of Pakistan expressed and re-emphasized the commitment of the Government and people of Pakistan to defeat terrorism and militancy. He outlined the steps the Government of Pakistan will take to stem the spread of extremism and to address the political, economic and security challenges confronting the country. He stressed that his Government and the international community will remain firm partners in confronting and eliminating terrorism, militancy and extremism.

The President of Pakistan also expressed the commitment of the Government and people of Pakistan to achieve economic reform for further stability of the country.

The meeting expressed its full support towards the enhancement of Pakistan’s inherent strength and capacity to meet the above challenges, individually and collectively, and with the support of international financial institutions.

The meeting acknowledged the important role of Pakistan and the great sacrifices that Pakistani people had made in confronting the menace of terrorism and extremism as well as Pakistan’s strong commitment to become an anchor of stability and peace in the region as a whole.

The meeting recognized with appreciation the resolve of the Government and people of Pakistan to promote peace, security, stability and prosperity within the region and to work with the international community constructively to promote these goals at the global plane. In this context, the meeting recognized the need for Pakistan’s strategy for public diplomacy to attract further support for and solidarity with the people and government of Pakistan.

The meeting expressed its full support to the efforts of the Government of Pakistan in ensuring its security and upholding the sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of Pakistan.

The members of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan decided to deepen and broaden their engagement with and provide tangible support to Pakistan with a view to establishing a robust partnership for peace and development.

The meeting expressed support for Pakistan’s efforts to further advance economic reform by increasing policy reform, privatization as well as increasing private sector growth, accountability and transparency.

The meeting noted the report of the FODP Experts meeting held in Abu Dhabi on 1-2 April. It was decided to establish effective follow up mechanisms for international cooperation and coordination including Working Groups, with interested countries and institutions, in the identified areas of development, security, energy, institution capacity building and trade and finance. These Working Groups will carry forward the process of analysis, formulation, evaluation and implementation of proposals in the above areas. The existing donor coordination mechanisms will be strengthened.

It was decided that the Friends of Democratic Pakistan process will be carried forward with a view to exploring all avenues to support Pakistan in realizing shared development priorities and addressing security challenges with focus on less developed areas. In particular the Friends of Democratic Pakistan will support the efforts of the Government of Pakistan to tap the potential of public private partnerships and that of civil society actors. To facilitate the process of the FODP and its follow up, the meeting welcomed the decision of the Government of Pakistan to establish the FODP Secretariat in Islamabad.

The meeting welcomed Turkey’s proposal to host the next High Level officials and Ministerial meetings in Istanbul.

The meeting also affirmed the solidarity of the international community to the Pakistani nation for realizing the vision of a democratic welfare state committed to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Islamabad
17 April 2009

160/2009