STOCKHOLM, July 6: President Pervez Musharraf is working purposefully towards reform in Pakistan and in relation to India, said Swedish Foreign Minister on Tuesday.

"I basically had a good impression of him ... He is a very open person with a clear idea of what needs to be done ... to reform his country," Ms Freivalds told reporters after a meeting with the president.

She said the Swedish government had no qualms about meeting a leader who had come to power through a military coup. "We are of the opinion that if we think a political dialogue is possible and can help us influence the development, we'll choose to have the dialogue," the foreign minister said, pointing out that it was also essential if Pakistan and India were to ever start disarming their nuclear weapons or resolve the Kashmir conflict.

"Intense work in this area is going on, and it is important that both parties have the ambition to try to find ... a possibility to start disarming, something that is not even on the table today," Ms Freivalds said.

She was impressed by Gen Musharraf's plans to improve women's rights in his country and in Afghanistan. "He convincingly said that this question is a priority from his point of view, not least from an educational standpoint ... He has introduced (gender) quotas in his parliament and brought a young, female parliamentary representative with him on his trip here," she said.

During their talk on Tuesday, Gen Musharraf and Ms Freivalds also discussed increasing trade between their two countries. The foreign minister, however, insisted that Sweden would not consider selling weapons to Pakistan.

"There is no question of selling them weapons or anything directly related to weapons today," she said. "We have yet to reach that stage" in the negotiations, she added. -AFP