VALLETTA, Malta - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif yesterday met French President Francois Hollande here and extended cooperation in counter-terrorism and intelligence sharing.
Nawaz Sharif reiterated a strong condemnation of the recent Paris terrorist attacks, in a meeting with the French leader that took place here in the Maltese capital on the sidelines of 24th Commonwealth meeting.
Nawaz extended heartfelt condolences over the loss of precious lives in Paris and said Pakistan was ready to share its experiences with France on counter-terrorism.
He said the government and the people of Pakistan stood by France in this hour of grief, adding terrorists were the common enemies of the humanity.
He mentioned Pakistan had lost thousands of lives in fight against terrorism and said economy had suffered losses of billions of dollars as a result of terrorist attacks over the years.
The prime minister said in the past two years, Pakistan had made notable gains in the fight against terrorism and added there was a countrywide consensus to root out the menace of violent extremism.
He mentioned the government had formulated the National Action Plan against terrorism as part of a comprehensive strategy to deal with this scourge. Also, the military operation Zarb-e-Azb had achieved remarkable results, he added.
Nawaz said Pakistan regarded Islamic State as a terrorist organisation and stressed the need for working together to find political solution to the crisis.
He said Pakistan considered France a close friend and an important political, economic and security partner and desired to enhance relations both at bilateral level and in the context of the European Union.
President Hollande expressed gratitude for the Pakistani government and people for their moral support in the wake of tragic Paris incident.
He said France was appreciative of the courage and resilience of Pakistani people for braving terrorism and extremism for long.
Nawaz Sharif told his British counterpart David Cameron that Pakistan is ready for talks with India for peace without spelling out any preconditions. He said Pakistan wants peaceful ties with all its neighbours.
In a meeting with Prince of Wales Charles Phillips, Nawaz Sharif said Pakistan was committed to the Charter of Commonwealth for promotion of global peace, international cooperation and development of democratic societies.
The prime minister said Pakistan values its historic ties with the Commonwealth and believed in close cooperation among the member countries to achieve common goals of prosperity.
In a meeting that was proposed by Prince Charles, the prime minister expressed satisfaction over the excellent relations between Pakistan and the United Kingdom in diverse fields including trade, investment, education and culture.
He appreciated the UK's assistance to Pakistan in health and education through its various development projects.
The prime minister lauded the Royal family's patronage of global charities and invited Prince Charles to visit Pakistan at his convenience.
Prince Charles commended Pakistan's valuable contribution to the Commonwealth and also acknowledged the role of civil society in supporting its shared goals on human rights, rule of law and governance.
The two sides discussed the significance of Commonwealth forum that gathers representatives from 53 countries, each having equal say regardless of its economic weight or population size.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced funding for a Commonwealth counter-extremism unit as the organisation's summit in Malta got under way Friday.
Cameron, who joined other heads of government from the 53-country gathering for the first of three days of talks on the Mediterranean island, said sharing expertise would help defeat the "extremist scourge".
Combating radicalisation and extremist violence is one of the main issues expected on the table at the biennial summit.
Cameron pledged £1 million ($1.5 million) a year over five years to establish and support a new Commonwealth counter-extremism unit.
It will be aimed at sharing expertise and identifying "new approaches to countering poisonous ideologies", his office said.
The unit will work through governments and civil society networks. It will work in particular with Commonwealth countries struggling to deal with high numbers of foreign fighters and share technical counter-terror expertise, said Downing Street. Pakistan and Nigeria in particular are dealing with violent extremists.
"The Commonwealth has a vital role to play in broadening international efforts to counter extremism," Cameron said.
"Its civil society and education networks make it particularly well-placed to complement international efforts to build counter narratives to this poisonous extremist ideology.
"This is the struggle of our generation, but by working together we will defeat this extremist scourge that is a threat to us all."
Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who is hosting the summit, said of its counter-radicalisation talks: "I don't expect a solution; I expect more understanding.
"Around the same table we will have a mixture of countries not united by religion, race or region. So that facilitates a discussion on what can be done in order not to have more young people being lured by radicalisation," he told AFP.
Muscat said young people were drawn towards extremism by the offer of "money and hope - something we should be offering them" instead, through employment and education.
"I expect some member states to announce initiatives that will be directly aimed at taking young people away from radicalisation and offering them alternatives."