PARIS, June 20: Gen Pervez Musharraf is expected in Paris on July 2 for a three-day visit following his visit to the United States.
The message he is expected to convey during his trip is that Pakistan has at last restored its international credibility, a situation consecrated by the Paris Club which has authorized the rescheduling of Pakistan’s $12.1 billion debt over a 38-year period.
According to the Pakistan embassy, the schedule for Gen Musharraf’s trip has not yet been firmed up, but besides important meetings on July 2 with President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, the Pakistani leader is planning to focus his attention on persuading the French business sector to become more interested in the Pakistani economy.
He is tentatively scheduled to address on July 3 an investment conference being jointly organized in Paris by the Board of Investment of Pakistan, the Aga Khan Foundation, and MEDEF — Movement des Entreprises de France, the powerful association of French company heads.
He will also be meeting with French parliamentarians on July 3, and before leaving France on July 4 is expected to address a press conference.
Pakistan is understood to want to convince its interlocutors in France and the European Union that its economy is in much better shape than it was four years ago.
