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P.R. No.37/2006
Date: 31/01/2006
Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs represented Pakistan at the two-day ministerial meeting of the Group of Friends on UN Reform, which was held in Grenada, Spain, from 27-28 January 2006
Makhdum
Khusro Bakhtyar, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
represented Pakistan at the two-day ministerial meeting of the
Group of Friends on UN Reform, which was held in Grenada,
Spain, from 27-28 January 2006. The meeting, which was
co-chaired by the Foreign Ministers of Spain and Mexico, was
intended to contribute to the ongoing process of
implementation of the World Summit decisions on key reform
issues. Discussions focused on Human Rights Council;
International Fight Against Terrorist; and ECOSOC reform and
development follow up. The issues of management reform and
disarmament and non-proliferation also came under discussion.
The
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs gave a presentation of
economic and social reforms (ECOSOC). The members of the group
agreed that progress should be made in both aspects through
parallel discussions with focus on implementation and that the
final outcome should be action-oriented. On fight against
terrorism, Pakistan circulated non-paper containing elements for
counter-terrorism strategy. The Pakistan delegation also got the
Chairman’s summary to include references to the underlying
causes of terrorism and the need for inter-civilizational
dialogue.
On Human
Rights Council, the group agreed on its early establishment. The
Pakistan delegation also disseminated a non-paper on disarmament
titled “Evolving a New Security Consensus”.
The Minister
of State on sidelines of the meeting also held a number of
bilateral meetings, including with the Minister of Netherlands,
Mexico, Sweden and Colombia. The Dutch Foreign Minister informed
the Minister of State about his government’s intention to send
1500 troops to Afghanistan as part of ISAF force. The Minister
of State highlighted various steps taken by Pakistan towards
eliminating Taliban remnants and underscored Pakistan’s
commitment to fight Al-Qaeda and Taliban through deploying
80,000 troops along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The
Minister also expressed the hope that the international
community through continued support and engagement would help
bring political and economic stability in Afghanistan.
As a follow
up to the President of Pakistan’s visit to Mexico in December
2004, the Mexican Foreign Minister apprised the Minister of
State that the Mexican Embassy would be opened in Islamabad
soon. The Minister of State welcomed the Mexican President’s
decision and also invited the Foreign Minister of Mexico to
visit Pakistan in near future. The Foreign Minister of Mexico
has accepted the invitation.
The Minister
of State also called on Foreign Minister Moratinos of Spain and
Secretary of State for Foreign Policy Mr. Bernardino Leon Gross.
During the meetings, bilateral political and economic matters
including defence cooperation came under discussion. The
Minister of State expressed gratitude for the Government of
Spain’s relief assistance towards the earthquake-affected areas
of Pakistan. He also expressed the hope that Spain would
continue to remain engaged in the infrastructure development of
the earthquake-affected regions, during the reconstruction and
rehabilitation phase.
Islamabad
January 31, 2006 |