Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Kayani meets Sarkozy: France wants to be Pakistan’s strategic partner

ISLAMABAD: French President Nicholas Sarkozy expressed his country’s desire for a strategic partnership with Pakistan during a meeting with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Kayani in Paris on Tuesday.According to APP, the French president told the army chief that Paris would help Pakistan build the capability to meet the challenges it was facing.Gen Kayani also met the French foreign minister, defence minister, chief of defence staff and chief of army staff, and visited the French Army Headquarters. Later on Tuesday, the army chief briefed NATO’s top officers in Brussels about the fight against the Taliban in northwestern Pakistan, AP said.Officials discussed plans to provide training for Pakistani officers in NATO training centres, and reviewed the status of NATO’s main supply route to landlocked Afghanistan, NATO spokesman James Appathurai said. Gen Kayani also held talks with Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. agencies

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