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WORLD / Asia-Pacific |
Pakistani president to embark on 8-day Europe visit(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-01-16 23:00 Islamabad -- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf will embark upon an eight-day visit to Belgium, France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom from January 20. Musharraf will be accompanied by members of the caretaker cabinet and senior officials during the visit, said Foreign Office spokesman Muhammad Sadiq in his weekly briefing here on Wednesday. Musharraf will meet European Union leaders in Brussels at the EU headquarters including Javier Solana. He will also address the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, said the spokesman. The President's talks with EU leaders would cover the entire spectrum of bilateral relations with emphasis on exploring ways and means to further enhance cooperation in various fields including commerce, economy, trade and defense, said the spokesman. "The EU is the largest trading partner with the overall annual volume of trade worth 9 billion dollars and also the largest foreign investor and development cooperation partner," said the spokesman. Musharraf's engagements in Brussels would also include talks with Belgian Prime Minister Guy Vehhofstadt aimed at promoting understanding and cooperation. Musharraf will also address the Pakistani community, business leaders and a Brussels-based think tank, he added. On January 21-22, Musharraf will visit France to hold talks with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy besides addressing French business leaders, the Pakistani community and representative of a think tank. During his visit to the eastern Swiss town of Davos, Musharraf will attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum on January 23-25. Musharraf will also meet a number of political and corporate leaders in Davos on the sidelines of the WEF meeting. During his visit to the UK on January 26-28, Musharraf will meet British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He will also address the Pakistan community and business leaders there. Replying a question, Sadiq said that the focus of Musharraf's engagements during his visit abroad would be bilateral relations but he would also exchange views on the issue of terrorism. About the possibility of Musharraf's meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Davos, the spokesman said that Musharraf's engagements in Davos were being finalized. |
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