French Ambassador calls on Foreign Minister

(2012-03-01)

The new French Ambassador, His Excellency Mr. Philippe Thibaud, called on Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, today. They discussed a range of bilateral matters and exchanged views on EU-Pakistan relations as well as important regional issues of mutual interest.

The Foreign Minister said that Pakistan enjoyed excellent relations with France and wanted to transform this relationship into a meaningful partnership. Recalling the Prime Minister’s visit to France last year, the Foreign Minister stressed that the two sides needed to further build on the understandings reached between the two leaderships. She particularly emphasized on enhancing bilateral trade and investment between the two countries.

The Foreign Minister thanked the French Government for supporting Pakistan’s case for the EU, concessional trade package and hoped that France would continue supporting Pakistan for the GSP+ status.

Talking about Afghanistan, the Foreign Minister said that Pakistan was committed to a stable and peaceful Afghanistan and that it would continue playing its role to achieve this objective. She also said that Pakistan fully supported and intra-Afghan dialogue and wanted the process of reconciliation to be Afghan-led and Afghan-owned.

Islamabad
01 March 2012

049/2012