After a meeting with Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, she told reporters that France hoped to be part of the efforts aimed at establishing better relations among the South Asian countries.

Asked to comment on the arms imbalance in the region being created by India by stockpiling all kinds of weapons, Ms Michelle said there was no reason to intervene in the issue but “what we can do is to answer any request for peace.”

About the Pakistan-France defence cooperation, she said they had talked about the exchange of officers and trainee officers and other ways of working together in the field.

She said Pakistan and France had the common concerns on the fight against terrorism and all other countries shared these concerns.

“We spoke about a number of options for increasing the exchange of intelligence in the fight against terrorism.”

Ms Michelle emphasized the need for enhancing economic cooperation between the two countries, saying this would help in ending instability.

She said that both countries had endeavoured to enhance mutual cooperation, which would help develop better understanding between the two countries.

SHAIKH RASHID: Briefing newsmen, Information and Broadcasting Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmed said Pakistan and France had agreed to improve their defence ties and would hold a follow-up meeting to discuss the modalities.

He said Pakistan and France had long-standing defence ties and would continue to cooperate, particularly in the air and naval areas. He said French Naval Chief would soon visit Pakistan as a follow-up of the meeting.

In reply to a question, he said Pakistan’s defence requirements were discussed at the talks and added that a team of defence experts would soon visit France.

Asked about the confidence building measures between Islamabad and New Delhi, he said the French government had expressed satisfaction over the move towards normalization of relations. —APP