The new French Ambassador, Philippe Thibaud discussed a range of bilateral matters and exchanged views on EU-Pakistan relations as well as important regional issues of mutual interest with Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Thursday. 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 emphasised 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 an intra-Afghan dialogue and wanted the process of reconciliation to be Afghan-led and Afghan-owned.
