Annex 5
UK—PAKISTAN A PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE
AND PROSPERITY JOINT STATEMENT
THE RT
HON TONY
BLAIR MP & PRESIDENT
PERVEZ MUSHARRAF: 6
DECEMBER 2004
His Excellency General Pervez Musharraf, President
of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, paid an official visit to
the United Kingdom on 5-7 December 2004 at the invitation of the
Rt Hon Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. At the
conclusion of their talks, they issued this joint statement.
1. Pakistan and the UK are bound together by
strategic ties. The two countries already enjoy close and fruitful
cooperation in diverse areas within several institutional frameworks.
President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Tony Blair agreed
to broaden the relationship between their countries into a reenergised
partnership for peace and prosperity in the 21st century.
2. Pakistan and the United Kingdom are close
allies in countering terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
The Prime Minister thanked the President for his courage in standing
firm against terrorism, which is a serious threat to international
stability. The President and the Prime Minister agreed that no
terrorism is acceptable, whatever the cause, and agreed to seek
further ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in combatting terrorism,
especially terrorist networks spanning the UK and Pakistan.
3. The President shared with the Prime Minister
his vision for Enlightened Moderation in the Islamic World. He
also detailed the far-reaching measures taken by Pakistan to eliminate
extremism and militancy in the country. They agreed on the need
for a concerted international effort to tackle the root causes
of terrorism and extremism, including through addressing poverty
and injustice, and by providing people with a greater stake in
the democracy and development of their own societies. They agreed
on the need for judicious resolution of conflict, including in
the Middle East and South Asia.
4. The Prime Minister welcomed President Musharraf's
commitment to continuing the process of democratisation in Pakistan,
and Pakistan's readmission to the Councils of the Commonwealth.
They both affirmed their commitment to the Commonwealth Harare
principles.
5. The President and the Prime Minister welcomed
the political cooperation which both countries have enjoyed in
the United Nations over the last two years while Pakistan has
been a member of the UN Security Council, and looked forward to
continuing to work together in the United Nations and other multilateral
forums.
6. The two leaders also agreed to work towards
the objective of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
and their means of delivery. They agreed to initiate a bilateral
strategic dialogue on these issues.
7. The President and the Prime Minister agreed
on the need for a fairer international trading regime, providing,
inter alia, for greater market access in a way which allows developing
countries to reap the substantial benefits of an increasingly
open world economy. They pledged to work closely for a successful
conclusion of the WTO Doha Development Agenda.
8. The President and the Prime Minister discussed
the situation in Iraq and agreed on the need for continued UN
and multinational efforts to bring lasting peace and stability
to the country. They welcomed the communiqué issued at
the end of the conference in Sharm el-Sheikh which underlined
the continued commitment of the international community to support
the political process in Iraq.
9. The President and the Prime Minister reaffirmed
their commitment to support Afghanistan's democratic process and
its development. They welcomed President Karzai's election and
recognised that a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan
will have benefits for the whole region. The Prime Minister commended
Pakistan for its constructive role in the elections, especially
the arrangements for refugee voting in Pakistan.
10. The Prime Minister emphasised the UK's long-term
commitment to Afghanistan. The President reaffirmed his commitment
to cooperation with Afghanistan and its neighbours in the context
of the Good Neighbourly Relations Declaration of December 2002,
including the counter narcotics declaration and action plan agreed
this year. Both agreed to intensify their efforts to clamp down
on the growth, processing, trafficking and abuse of opiates in
the region which have such serious effects on our societies and
economies.
11. The Prime Minister praised President Musharraf's
statesmanship in seeking to resolve Pakistan's outstanding issues
with India, and welcomed the progress made by both sides since
January 2004 in the ongoing Composite Dialogue process. The Prime
Minister encouraged further efforts to find a lasting resolution
to these issues, including over Jammu and Kashmir, taking into
account the wishes of the Kashmiris. They agreed that resolution
of the Kashmir issue would help to establish durable peace in
the region.
12. The Prime Minister and the President agreed
to work closely towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
The President warmly welcomed the United Kingdom's commitment
of up to £144 million over two years in development assistance
to help support Pakistan's long-term development and poverty reduction
initiatives. The Prime Minister acknowledged the turnaround in
Pakistan's economy, making it one of fastest growing economies
in the world with an annual growth rate of over 6.5%.
13. The President and the Prime Minister praised
the ongoing work of the Pakistan-Britain Trade and Investment
Forum and the Pakistan-Britain Business Advisory Group in helping
to promote the already close trading links between their countries.
The UK is the second largest foreign investor in Pakistan. They
welcomed the success of the two trade missions which visited Pakistan
in September and October 2004 and the plans for further trade
missions in February 2005.
14. The President and the Prime Minister welcomed
the deepening defence relationship between their countries, including
through the success of the annual meetings of the Defence Cooperation
Forum. They agreed on the importance of further evolving the Forum
into a wide-ranging dialogue, including discussions of global
and regional security, and defence equipment. They also agreed
to enhance cooperation through both countries' continued involvement
in UN Peacekeeping Operations, to which Pakistan currently contributes
more troops than any other country in the world, and actively
to explore opportunities to learn from each other's experiences,
such as through dialogue, training and peacekeeping exercises
between the two countries.
15. They also reviewed the constructive work
of the Pakistan Britain Joint Judicial Cooperation Working Group
in helping to improve the operations of law enforcement agencies
affecting both countries.
16. The Prime Minister expressed his appreciation
of the ongoing links between Pakistan and the approximately one
million people of Pakistani heritage living in the UK, and both
welcomed the reopening of the visa issuing service in the British
High Commission in Islamabad and the British Deputy High Commission
in Karachi. They agreed on the need to encourage bona-fide travel
between their countries as a means of fostering strong people-to-people
links, but to clamp down on those who try to cheat the system.
To this end the leaders agreed to conclude as soon as possible
a Memorandum of Understanding on immigration issues, re-documentation
and resolution of cases.
17. The President and the Prime Minister agreed
to hold an annual summit-level meeting between their countries
and to explore new areas of bilateral cooperation.
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