Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri's two-day visit to Pakistan this week will enhance economic and commercial relations between the two countries, the foreign office in Islamabad said Monday, August 6.
Hariri, the first Lebanese prime minister to visit Pakistan in decades, is arriving in Islamabad on Tuesday for talks with President Pervez Musharraf on bilateral, regional and global issues. Musharraf extended an invitation during his visit to Beirut in January, a foreign ministry statement said.
The statement said the two leaders will discuss regional and international issues including Kashmir, ties between Pakistan and India, and the Middle East situation. During Musharraf's "highly successful visit", Pakistan and Lebanon signed bilateral agreements on trade and promotion and protection of investments, it said.
Hariri is a "highly successful businessman and entrepreneur", the statement said, adding that his "widespread international business interests are expected to contribute to further strengthening of bilateral economic and commercial interaction between the two countries." It also lauded Hariri's "tireless efforts" to rebuild Lebanon after the devastating 1975-90 civil war.
General Musharraf has backed Lebanon's right to recover land held by Israel and has also offered help in de-mining work in southern Lebanon, where the Israeli army reportedly left more than 130,000 mines during its 22-year occupation. ― (AFP, Islamabad)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
