Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari today said he hoped to secure better access to European markets rather than more aid, ahead of a landmark EU-Pakistan summit focused in part on trade.
"What I need is trade, not aid. I'm looking for MoUs (memorandums of understanding) and not IOUs and I intend to get them," he told journalists after meeting with NATO ambassadors in Brussels.
"I'm always hopeful, I'm a man who has walked from the gallows to the presidency."
Zardari was speaking shortly before heading to the first ever EU-Pakistan summit were trade links are to top the agenda with the ultimate goal being further down the line a free trade agreement.
According to a draft text, the EU will "explore" how Pakistan could benefit from its preferential tariff regime, which affords customs privileges in return for respecting principles in the areas of workers' rights and the environment.
