29 January 2005	Saturday	18 Zilhaj 1425

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DAVOS, Jan 28: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Friday said that Pakistan was ready to act as a bridge between Iran and other stakeholders to resolve contentious issues.

He said during his upcoming visit to Iran, many issues would be discussed with the Iranian leadership.

Speaking at a lunch he hosted for the chief executives of multi-national corporations and corporate leaders here, the prime minister said that Pakistan's relations with Iran were cordial but the trade and commercial ties needed to be improved further.

Stressing the need for a long-term strategic partnership with the United States, he said that such an alliance would benefit both countries. The prime minister said although the two countries had relations since long there had been ups and downs.

"Pakistan is more interested in a long-term friendship with the US rather than a transitional one. The leaders of the two countries have been holding regular consultations but now a time has come to consolidate relations on solid and firm grounds," he said.

Speaking about Pakistan's relations with neighbouring countries, he said the country desired to live in peace with its neighbours. The prime minister said that Pakistan abhorred terrorism in its all forms and manifestations and the country was determined to work with the rest of the world to fight this menace.

He, however, stressed the need for finding root causes of terrorism which, in his view, could be addressed through the removal of sense of deprivation, poverty, ignorance and illiteracy. He also spoke about the success of economic reforms in the country and said many sectors were now open for investment from overseas entrepreneurs.

Meanwhile, speaking at a breakfast meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum here, Mr Aziz said there was a greater responsibility on the West to assist poor Muslim countries in socio-economic fields if it had to tackle the issue of terrorism in a comprehensive manner.

The prime minister said terrorism also had links with the Middle East issue and unless the Palestine problem was settled amicably, the region would continue to remain in turmoil and bloodbath.

He said that Pakistan's relations with Israel were linked to the satisfactory solution of the Palestine question. The prime minister explained in detail Pakistan's relations with its neighbours such as Afghanistan, Iran, China and India and its efforts to ensure peace in the region.

The prime minister also explained various measures taken by Pakistan for peaceful relations with India and said the composite dialogue process would receive a further boost when he met his Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh in Dhaka during the Saarc summit next month.

He was of the view that bilateral trade relations between the two nuclear states would help to promote and encourage regional peace. Also present on the occasion were Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri, Privatization Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan, IT Minister Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari and Industries and Production Minister Jahangir Tareen.

GAS PIPELINE: The prime minister said that Pakistan would press ahead with a gas pipeline project even if India refused or was unable to join the plan. He said the pipeline, an energy corridor linking Pakistan and India with Iran, Qatar and the Middle East, would also bring a political dividend by helping create interdependent relations between the two nuclear neighbours.

But, he added, that Pakistan would need to import much more gas over the next few years just to meet its own needs. He said he had told the Indian government: "If you come along, we would be delighted to work with you.

"If for some reason you don't (take part), Pakistan is going to go ahead anyway, so tell us when you're ready." The 1,600km pipeline is designed to transfer gas from Iran to India through Balochistan.

The prime minister said that as well as talks with Iran and Qatar, he was also talking to officials in Turkmenistan as the shortest route might pass through that Central Asian republic, depending on which of three construction projects was chosen.

"If all hands are on deck we could do the full project in three to five years," Mr Aziz said. "This project can create history and really change the energy dynamics of the region ... even the diplomatic relations and the political dimensions of the region," he predicted.

The prime minister said that he would discuss the $4.05 billion project when he met Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the fringes of a February 6-7 summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

MALAYSIAN DEPUTY PM: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz met Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak on the margins of the World Economic Forum on Friday and discussed steps to enhance bilateral and economic ties.

Officials said the prime minister informed Mr Razak about economic reforms launched in Pakistan and the efforts to deregulate various sectors for international business community.

Mr Aziz said that Malaysia ought to import more Pakistani manpower, which was skilled and hard working. He said Pakistan was looking forward to the next month's visit by Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, during which a host of issues would be discussed. -APP/AFP