Prime Minister Julia Gillard of Australia on Sunday invited Pakistan for a meaningful dialogue to deepen economic ties, enhance cooperation in agriculture and undertake joint investment ventures to strengthen bilateral relations and as an effective means to counter-terrorism.
Gillard extended invitation to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani at a meeting on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth. The Australian prime minister said her country looks forward to the bilateral visit in 2012 along with delegation comprising businessmen, investors and agriculturists so as to explore new avenues for cooperation between the two countries.
The current volume of trade between Pakistan and Australia, the fifth largest development partner, has surged to 700 million dollars, still far below the real potential between the two countries. Gillard said Australia considers development as an important component of counter-terrorism strategy and would widen the scope of cooperation with Pakistan in all areas.
Prime Minister Gilani also extended an invitation to the Australian prime minister to visit Pakistan and said there was a need to find new avenues of cooperation, particularly in areas of agriculture, energy, education, infrastructure and health. He said that the international community needs to extend assistance to Pakistan to enhance its capacity to fight the terrorists who were a common enemy.
He said suicide bombings cause flight of capital and scare away the investors despite the lucrative incentives offered by the government. The prime minister gave detailed account of Pakistan’s role in the war on terror in which about 35,000 people had been killed including 5000 law enforcement personnel, with an equal number disabled.
However, he pointed that the military operation was not a sustainable resolution as political process has to be initiated to bring peace. The prime minister said his initiative of political reconciliation was not taken seriously by the US leadership, but now his stance has been vindicated as the world is now urging a political solution for long-term stability in Afghanistan.
During the four-day visit of Prime Minister Gilani, Pakistan and Australia also inked the four-year Australia-Pakistan Development Partnership that lays the foundations for future engagement between the two countries on aid and development.
The partnership, signed by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and her Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd and commits both countries to accountability and mutual responsibility for development results and joint reviews of progress against the partnership’s commitment to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development goals. It will underpin activities in the health, education, and agriculture and rural development sectors.
