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| Pakistan, EU agree to strengthen dialogue in counter-terrorism | | | Islamabad, Feb 9
Pakistan and European Union (EU) have agreed to continue and strengthen their dialogue and cooperation in the field of counter-terrorism.
The agreement was reached during talks between Pakistani officials and members of an EU delegation that visited Pakistan from February 7-9.
Gijs M de Vries, EU Counter Terrorism Coordinator led the delegation and held talks with additional foreign secretary. Mr de Vries also met Chairman Senate Wasim Sajjad, Foreign Secretary Riaz Muhammad Khan and other senior officials.
''The objective of these discussions is to deepen Pakistan-EU understanding and cooperation in the global campaign against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,'' foreign ministry spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said in Islamabad today.
Five previous rounds of discussions between the EU and Pakistan have been held so far in Islamabad and Brussels since November 2002.
''The EU Counter Terrorism Coordinator expressed deep appreciation of Pakistan ’s strong role in the field of counter-terrorism and the bilateral cooperation extended to many EU countries in this field,'' Ms Aslam said.
She quoted him as telling Pakistani officials that being a moderate and modern Muslim country, Pakistan had a very important role to play in the world especially at the time when there were so many misperceptions.
Mr de Vries stressed the need to counter radicalisation wherever it may occur while Pakistan side emphasised the need to address the root causes of terrorism.
She said during the talks, Pakistani officials highlighted Islamabad’s policies to promote moderation and to counter extremism within Pakistan and the initiatives to promote the resolution of outstanding disputes in the Muslim World.
''It was stressed that in order to counter extremist tendencies, it was vital to improve socio-economic conditions, and in this respect the EU, which is Pakistan’s major trading partner can and should play its role in increasing trade access for this South Asian country,'' the spokeswoman said.
''The EU needs to take action against terrorists and their supporters who were residing in EU countries, and are targeting Pakistan,'' officials told de Vries, who assured that Islamabad’s concerns would be conveyed to the EU and its Member Countries.
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