Pakistan's military ruler Pervez Musharraf ended his Middle East tour Wednesday, leaving Beirut after a two-day visit to Lebanon during which Islamabad backed Lebanon's "diplomatic efforts" to "regain" territory occupied by Israel, reported AFP.
On Wednesday morning, Musharraf met Lebanese President Emile Lahoud who thanked him for his country's support and recognition of Lebanon's rights to recover land held by Israel, and reiterated his rejection of a permanent implantation of the Palestinian refugees on Lebanese soil, an official statement, quoted by the agency, said.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar said earlier that Lebanon's interim foreign minister, Mohammad Baydoun, "explained to me that despite Israel's troop pullout from southern Lebanon (in May), there was still a lingering problem as part of Lebanon's territory is still occupied.
"We are now more sensitive to the issue, and we back Lebanon's diplomatic efforts to regain its rights," Abdul Sattar told reporters after a meeting with Baydoun, according to the agency.
The Daily Star newspaper reported, meanwhile, that Musharraf met with Lebanese businessmen in the hope of increasing exports to Lebanon.
"I brought five ministers to Lebanon with the idea of identifying specific fields of economic cooperation, particularly in information technology, agriculture, energy, and oil," Musharraf said after a meeting with business officials held at the Beirut chamber of commerce.
Lebanon has exported about $1 million worth of goods annually to Pakistan in recent years, while Pakistan's annual exports to Lebanon stand at about $11 million, said the daily.
Prior to the Lebanese civil war, Pakistan exported about $100 million of goods here a year, because Lebanon imported sizable amounts of raw cotton.
On Tuesday, Lebanon's finance minister, Fouad Siniora, and economy minister, Basil Fuleihan, signed two economic agreements with their Pakistani counterparts to encourage investments, and boost trade.
"We are planning to increase our exports to Lebanon by 50 percent this year, if this visit leads to reciprocal visits by business delegations to and from Pakistan," Pakistani trade minister Abdul-Razak Dawood told the daily.
"We believe this is feasible because Lebanon has just reduced customs duties and this will encourage business people to come to Lebanon."
Musharraf kicked off his tour in Syria, where six cooperation agreements were signed. In Damascus, he had called on India to negotiate for a peaceful solution to the Kashmir conflict, "which cannot be solved by violence."
In a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah, the two heads of state reiterated their support for the "Palestinians' right to establish an independent state with east Jerusalem as its capital", and their call for a fair solution concerning the issue of Palestinians refugees' right of return and compensation, said Jordanian press reports -- Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
