September 6, 2003	Saturday	Rajab 8, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, Sept 5: Pakistan and France will sign on Saturday a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to devise a joint anti-narcotics and anti-terrorism strategy, a source in the interior ministry told Dawn on Friday.

The MoU will be signed during a two-day visit to Pakistan of a three-member French delegation headed by a director national security, Pierre due Bousquet de Florian. The delegation is arriving on Saturday.

The delegation will hold discussions with high-ranking officials of the ministry of interior to evolve a mechanism to enhance cooperation in combating terrorism, trans-national crimes and training of police personnel, the source said.

The current visit of French delegation was stated to be a follow-up of Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat’s visit to France in March this year. During Mr Hayat’s visit France had agreed to send a high-level delegation of experts to Pakistan in order to conclude an agreement on cooperation in the fields of security and intelligence.

An official of the interior ministry said the government had already briefed France on Pakistan’s success in discouraging poppy cultivation but it was still being used as a transit country for narcotics smuggling.

The official said issues like narcotics smuggling, human trafficking, money laundering and cyber crimes could be eradicated through international efforts as these had become international problems.

The country’s role in controlling narcotics production and smuggling had been acknowledged by the United States and the European Union, the official said.