Zardari stresses need for economic diplomacy

ISLAMABAD - President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday said that no external force would be allowed to take action on our soil, as Pakistani forces were fully capable of curbing the menace of terror.
The President said this while chairing a special briefing session held for him and the Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on major foreign policy issues here at the Foreign Office.
President Zardari said that those involved in subversive acts and terrorist activities would be dealt with in a stern manner.
However, he added, any action, if and where required, would be taken only by our own security forces inside Pakistani territory, according to an official privy to two-hour consultations held at the Foreign Ministry.
Earlier, the Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi welcomed the country’s top leadership to the Foreign Office. His welcome note was followed by a detailed presentation on different foreign policy issues by the Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, the official said.
National Security Advisor, Mahmood Ali Durrani also attended the briefing.
In his address, President Zardari said that diplomacy being one of the most important instruments of state policy must be geared not only for conflict prevention and resolution but also to advance the country’s trade and development agenda.
“There were many opportunities offered by today’s globalized world and we needed to seize them”, he was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Foreign Office.
The President particularly stressed the importance of economic diplomacy, both to promote trade, commerce and foreign investments and to raise Pakistan’s profile on key regional and international economic issues.
He said this briefing was among his very first engagements after assuming the office of the President. That showed the importance that he attached to country’s foreign policy and the role of the Foreign Office, he added.
The President said that the completion of democratic transition in Pakistan gave us a fresh identity and brought us back in the global mainstream.
He said that in efforts to consolidate democracy, promote development and good governance, and counter terrorism, the national institutions must make their rightful contribution in the service of the people.