- Outgoing French Ambassador to Pakistan calls on President Mamnoon
- President expresses desire to further strengthen Pak-France ties
President Mamnoon Hussain Friday said Pakistan desires to further strengthen its partnership with France in diverse areas to mutually benefit the people of both countries.
He was talking to Ambassador of France in Pakistan Philippe Thiebaud who paid a farewell visit to him at the Aiwan-e-Sadar.
The president said that Pakistan accords importance to bilateral relations with France, which were based on mutual trust and goodwill.
He appreciated France’s decades-long partnership with Pakistan in defence, economic activities and trade and expressed hope that Annual Bilateral Consultations will be held with France before the end of this year.
Expressing confidence that the existing bilateral trade volume of US$ 1.3 billion between the two countries has the potential to increase in future, the president said that presently over 30 French companies are benefitting from Pakistan’s investor-friendly policies.
The president appreciated France’s support for Pakistan at various international forums.
He appreciated the presence of over 50,000 Pakistanis in France has acted as a bridge for furthering people-to-people contact between the two countries.
Appreciating Pakistan’s cooperation with France in the fields of education, training and research, the president said, “Currently, 483 Pakistani PhD scholars are pursuing their degree in France.”
The president commended the diplomat’s services during his tenure as ambassador and wished him good health, happiness and success in the future.
The outgoing ambassador thanked the president for the Government of Pakistan’s support during his term in office.
