Pakistan urges Germany to liberalise export control policy for defence equipment

Pakistan and Germany agree to expand bilateral relations and strengthen cooperation.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Germany on Saturday agreed to expand bilateral relations and strengthen cooperation in various fields including economy, education, defence, infrastructure and energy.

The two countries had in-depth discussions on initiating a strategic dialogue to enhance investment and economic ties and boost defence cooperation.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, who arrived on Saturday on a two-day visit to Pakistan, discussed the security situation on the Pakistan-Afghan border with his Pakistan counterpart Shah Mahmood  Qureshi. Westerwelle landed in Lahore because of fog and poor visibility in Islamabad and then travelled to the capital later in the evening for the talks.

Addressing a joint press conference at the foreign office after the talks, they said the meeting was focused on strategic dialogue which had been decided by the leaders of the two countries in the past.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi said, “We shared concept papers of German-Pakistan strategic dialogue.”  He said, “We had a good discussion and it will continue as more time is needed to discuss bilateral relations especially in the economic and defence fields.”

Qureshi thanked the German foreign minister for the unprecedented contribution of 300 million dollars that the German government and German people gave for flood affected people. He also thanked the German government for the support it has given to Pakistan in getting a larger share in exports to the European Union.

Qureshi said, “We discussed potential investment opportunities in Pakistan and enhancement of economic relations between the two countries especially in the area of renewable energy and agriculture sector.”

He said Pakistan has also asked Germany to increase the number of scholarships to Pakistan students. He said that they also discussed vocational training and setting up new training centers in Pakistan.

Pakistan urged Germany to liberalise the export control policy towards Pakistan so that the country could get export licenses for defence equipment.  Pakistan needs defence equipment to enhance its counter-terrorism capacity, Qureshi said.

The German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle addressing the press conference said bilateral relations are deep and Germany is a true friend of Pakistan.

Westerwelle said Pakistan is facing political and economic challenges, especially after the recent floods and assured that Germany will continue its engagement and cooperation with Pakistan in all fields. He also condoled the assassination of governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer. The German minister said, “It showed our engagement is necessary to fight against every terrorist. We encourage Pakistan and Afghanistan to closely cooperate in security issues, Germany as a friend will support you in this regard,” adding, “You can count on Germany and you can rely on us.”

Development cooperation with Germany is an important component of bilateral relations. Germany significantly enhanced the development assistance from 64 million euros in 2007-08 to 145.35 million euros in 2009-2010. Germany is Pakistan’s fourth largest trading partner, and the largest in the European Union. Bilateral trade touched 2.24 billion dollars in 2009-10 and despite the global recession Pakistan exports to Germany have witnessed an increase reaching 830 million dollars during 2009-10.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2011.