ISLAMABAD: Britain and Pakistan have an "unbreakable" bond that can be strengthened through more cooperation on counterterrorism, boosting trade and improving Pakistan's education sector, the British prime minister said during a visit to Pakistan on Tuesday.
David Cameron's visit comes months after he sparked a diplomatic dustup by suggesting Pakistan promoted the exporting of terrorism, and he was due to give a speech to a university later in the day in which he was to call for the two countries to make a "fresh start."
Britain considers its relationship with Pakistan to be of critical importance, especially for national security reasons. Britain has a significant minority population of Pakistani descent, and the 2005 London transit bombings and several other terror plots have been traced to extremists in that group. Britain also is part of the US-led coalition fighting the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Pakistan's neighbor, Afghanistan.
Cameron's visit is one of relatively rare trips to Pakistan by Western heads of government. Emphasising the visit's focus on security issues, Cameron was joined by John Sawers, the head of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service - also known as MI6 - and the head of Britain's armed forces, Gen. David Richards.
In a joint press conference with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, the British premier praised Pakistan's efforts to fight extremist groups, and pledged more cooperation on that front.
"We have no higher shared priority than tackling terrorism together," he said.
Cameron also said the countries have agreed to try doubling bilateral trade in goods and services to $4.1 billion (2.5 billion British pounds) per year by 2015. The United Kingdom also will pursue an education initiative to bring 4 million more Pakistani children into schools by 2015 and train 90,000 new teachers, he said.
"Britain's friendship with Pakistan is unbreakable," Cameron insisted.
The British High Commission in Islamabad released segments of a speech Cameron was to give at a university later Tuesday, in which he calls on both countries to "clear up the misunderstandings of the past, work through the tensions of the present and look together to the opportunities of the future."
The comments appeared, at least in part, aimed at easing tensions over Cameron's remarks during his trip to India in July 2010, when he said Pakistan must not be allowed to "promote the export of terror whether to India, whether to Afghanistan or to anywhere else in the world."
"I acknowledge that there are challenges that our friendship must overcome. But I want to argue today that they shouldn't hold us back anymore," Cameron is set to say during his speech in Islamabad.
"Whether it's relations with India, our security, or questions of governance, if we work closely with one another, if we're clear that we need each other to succeed, we can grasp these difficult issues and move beyond them to a better future. So let's make today a 'fresh start' in our relationship."
British officials released few details in advance of Cameron's visit, citing concerns about security. But the British High Commission's Twitter feed said Cameron had visited a girls' school in Islamabad and that he had toured Islamabad's grand Faisal Mosque.
Aside from the Pakistani prime minister, Cameron is also expected to meet with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and other top officials in this South Asian country. Zardari visited Britain in August, where he and Cameron tried to reduce friction caused by the British premier's remarks in India.
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