LAHORE: France’s Ambassador to Pakistan Martine Dorance called on Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, on Saturday, to discuss matters of mutual interest, including promotion of bilateral ties and cooperation in various fields.
The French ambassador congratulated the chief minister over the completion of energy projects in record time and said speedy completion of energy projects in Pakistan is unprecedented and efforts of the government for resolving energy crisis are praiseworthy. She said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Punjab has made extraordinary development and the government has shown visible performance in various fields, including education, healthcare and other social sectors. She said that France attaches great importance to its ties with Pakistan and France will continue cooperation with the Punjab at every level.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that excellent friendly ties exist between France and Pakistan and there is a need to promote cooperation between both the countries in economic and trade sectors on a permanent basis.
He said that France has special expertise in alternative sources of energy, water and sanitation and agro-based industry and bilateral cooperation can be enhanced in these fields. He said that Punjab has a favourable environment for investment and French investors can take benefits from investment-related opportunities in the province.
He said that transparency has been promoted during the last four years under the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and new examples of efficiency have been set by ensuring savings of billions of rupees in various projects.
He said that top standards of transparency and new chapters of speedy completion of projects have been set and the world acknowledges transparency in Pakistan. He said Pakistan is heading towards its real destination, as Pakistan has taken off on the road of development and progress. He said that there is no room for terrorism and extremism in Pakistan and terrorists are open enemies of humanity. He said that the Pakistani nation is committed to eliminating terrorism and unparalleled achievements have been made due to a decision, taken with consensus, by military and civilian leaderships.