Zardari to chair FODP ministerial meeting going to be held on 17th April in Tokyo
ISLAMABAD: President Zardari would be chairing the Friends of Democratic Pakistan Forum (FODP) Ministerial Meeting and the Donors Conference, to be held back-to-back in Tokyo on 17 April 2009.
The Donors Conference will be co-hosted by Japan and the World Bank and the FODP meeting will be chaired by Pakistan.
According to a press release issued here on Tuesday, an Experts’ Meeting will take place in Abu Dhabi on 1-2 April followed by a Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) in Tokyo on 16 April in order to finalize recommendations for the FODP Ministerial Meeting.
The initiative demonstrates political and economic support of the ’Friends’ for the democratic government of Pakistan.
The ’Friends’ recognize the need for building strategic partnerships with the Government of Pakistan to promote economic development and financial stability, address its energy needs, build institutions and bring peace and stability to the region.
The initiative signifies that ’The Friends’ stand shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan in its journey to build a strong, prosperous and progressive country.
Furthermore, a well-coordinated international approach is required to address challenges faced by Pakistan. Economic stability and implementing Pakistan’s development agenda is essential for the success of countering terrorism and extremism.
Earlier, a briefing was held for the Heads of Mission of FODP countries in the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.
The meeting was chaired by Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir. The representatives of World Bank, UN, UNDP, ADB, IDB and IMF attended the meeting. Senator Sughra Imam, Secretaries Finance, EAD, Interior, Planning, Water & Power were also present in the meeting and briefed the envoys on Pakistan’s development needs and priorities.
