Pakistan's nuclear programme fully secured: FM Hina
29 September, 2012
NEW YORK: Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has said that Pakistan accords the "highest priority" to ensuring a foolproof safety and security mechanism for the country's nuclear programme. "Nuclear security is both a global challenge and a national responsibility," Khar said in a speech to a high-level meeting on Countering Nuclear Terrorism. "Over the years, we have put in place extensive physical protection measures, robust command and control structures, comprehensive export controls and wide-ranging regulatory regimes," she said. Meanwhile, Khar met with her Iranian counterpart Dr Ali Akbar Salehi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session on Friday. The two foreign ministers discussed various aspects of the bilateral relations and noted with satisfaction that the intense and frequent interaction at the leadership level had put the relationship on the right trajectory. In order to further broaden and strengthen the bilateral cooperation, the two foreign ministers emphasised the need for expeditious completion of the mega projects particularly in the energy sector. They also discussed the situation in Afghanistan and Syria and said given the complexity of the challenges the prevalent situation in the two countries could pose both at the regional and global levels. The two Foreign Ministers also underlined the importance of working closely with each other. Separately, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar met the foreign minister of Malaysia on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Khar noted that Pakistan enjoyed close and cordial relations with Malaysia and that the two countries shared common views on various global and regional issues. She informed the Malaysian Foreign Minister that Pakistan attached great importance to its relations with ASEAN community and hoped that Malaysia would continue supporting Pakistan's case for the Full Dialogue partner of the Association. The two Foreign Ministers expressed satisfaction at the improvement in bilateral trade and underscored the need to take measures to fully utilize the FTA to further expand and diversify the trade relations. Khar particularly sought Malaysian investment in the tourism section. The two Foreign Ministers also resolved to work closely on the various challenges facing Muslims and cooperate at the UN and OIC platforms to project the true peaceful message of Islam. They forcefully rejected the Islamophobic trends and condemned the recent blasphemous film. The Foreign Minister also reiterated the invitation for D-8 Summit scheduled to be held in Islamabad in November this year. Meanwhile, Khar also met Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov Maharram Oglu. The two noted with satisfaction the commonality of views on various regional and international issues and agreed to work closely as non-permanent members of the Security Council in order to counter various challenges facing Muslims. End.
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