Reconciliation was "an Afghan initiative", said Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on arriving for the conference, but a peaceful Afghanistan was in his country's interests.

"They have to own it, they have to lead it. We are there to help, we are there to facilitate," he said.

Qureshi was in Brussels to co-host a daylong "Friends of Democratic Pakistan" meeting with EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton. Also attending were a slew of foreign ministers and dignitaries, including US envoy for the region, Richard Holbrooke.

The meeting comes as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank announced estimated damages for Pakistan's devastating floods since July at 9.7 billion dollars -- almost twice the amount of its 2005 earthquake.

"The meeting won't focus solely on post-flood recovery," said a diplomat who asked to remain anonymous.

"The goal is to demand that Pakistan provide a programme for economic reform, but there is no plan to condition aid on these reforms."

Qureshi told reporters "there are more reforms in the pipeline," adding that he expected a "positive" conclusion to Friday's third meeting of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan, a forum set up in 2008 to support efforts to build democracy.

"A safe secure and stable Pakistan is manifestly in the interests of the EU, the United States and the international community as a whole," Ashton said.

Planned before the summer deluge that devastated Pakistan, the gathering is scheduled to take a hard look at the country's public finance management, concerns over corruption, and tax reform.

"We must make sure where the money goes," said a diplomat. "Why we have so many ministers present is to give a clear political message that it isn't a one-way street. We expect clear commitments."

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, passing through Brussels the previous day, had a similar view, saying Pakistan's wealthy needed to dig into their own pockets to match global efforts to help it recover.

"It's absolutely unacceptable for those with means in Pakistan not to be doing their fair share to help their own people while taxpayers in Europe, the United States and other contributing countries are all chipping in," Clinton said.

The floods affected 21 million people -- with 12 million in need of emergency help by UN estimates -- and damaged farms and infrastructure across a fifth of the country, according top the ADB and World Bank.

To date the United States and the EU have provided around 450 million dollars each in aid to Pakistan. Europe this month also offered a major trade boost, proposing to lift duties on 75 imports as part of an aid-linked package.

But the three-year suspension of duties still requires a waiver from the World Trade Organisation as well as a vital green light from the European Parliament.

Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini hinted on arriving for the talks that his country still had reservations about the aid-linked trade package for Pakistan, which EU textile-producing countries fear could hurt their business.

"Under certain limitations we can go ahead," he told reporters. "I am ready but on condition."

Qureshi on Thursday appeared before the 27-nation parliament for a 90-minute grilling, calling for more support from Europe and hammering home the message that Islamabad's fledgling democracy was on the march after ending a decade of military rule in 2008.

"We are building a democratic culture," said Qureshi in response to queries on the role of the military and the power of civilian authorities.

"Without your help I wouldn't be here, but obviously it takes time. Old habits die hard," he added. "We have to be persistent and you have to be patient."

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News