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Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz yesterday said his country would like to enter into a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Bangladesh.
"Pakistan is a free-trade country...we're open for trade and investment and it's where the two countries have great potential to develop," he told a select group of journalists invited for breakfast with him at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel.
Shaukat also stressed the need for making Safta functional within the scheduled timeframe but underlined that the interests and problems of the smaller countries of the region must be taken into consideration.
Asked about the question of repatriation of the "stranded Pakistanis" or the Biharis in Bangladesh, Shaukat said this was not discussed at his bilateral meeting with Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
"This is a complex issue... We see it as a humanitarian problem and agree that they are suffering," said the Pakistan PM.
Shaukat said his bilateral talks with Khaleda was very useful as they discussed measures for strengthening economic and trade relations.
SAARC HOSTAGE TO TENSION
The Pakistani prime minister said Saarc has become hostage to the tension between two giant neighbours -- one being his own country.
He lamented that for 20 years since its launch the seven-nation forum "has not been able to exploit its full potential".
"This is a region mired in conflicts" It's not only the India-Pakistan conflict, but there are other dimensions and problems," he told the journalists.
Shaukat stressed the need for conflict resolution, saying, "We want to move from conflict management to conflict resolution."
The Pakistan Prime Minister observed that Kashmir remained the "core issue" and there would not be any durable peace in the region without removing the bone of contention between India and Pakistan.
"We want a sustainable solution to the Kashmir problem," he said.
Referring to his talks with Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the Saarc Summit, he said it was "very productive" and it covered some of the bilateral issues.
"We are building ties with India block by block, step by step. Yesterday's meeting with Dr Singh was another step in the right direction," the Pakistani leader said.
Asked about the peace process between his country and India, Shaukat said Islamabad would like to see reduction of troops on the highly militarised Kashmir front and conveyed their intentions to New Delhi.
The Indian side explained their position, he said, without elaborating much. But Shaukat pointed out that the "trust-deficit" between the two neighbours has been declining and both would like to move toward normalising their relations.
The Pak premier said his bilateral talks with Dr Singh on the fringes of the two-day Saarc Summit covered all issues, from terrorism to trade.
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