Pakistan Needs Better Access to Western Markets

Better access to U.S. and European markets would build Pakistan's economy, helping to sustain democracy and fight fanaticism, said President Asif Ali Zardari. He said his country also needs $100 billion in investment.

"We need trade not aid," said Zardari, 53, in a speech in London today to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a consultant on defense which advises Western governments. "We need to create economic opportunity to the teeming millions."

He said reduced trade barriers would allow cotton and textile exports to triple and cited Vietnam as a country that has overcome war and trauma through trade.

The expansion of south Asia's second-largest economy more than halved to 2 percent in the year ended June 30. Pakistan turned to the International Monetary Fund for a $11.3 billion loan with the latest tranche agreed in August. Overseas direct investment fell to $3.72 billion last fiscal year, from $5.4 billion in the previous 12 months, partly because of terrorist attacks.

"The real task now is to make democracy sustainable," he said. "Democracy has united the nation against terrorism."

Zardari was elected last year following the assassination of his wife, presidential candidate and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. He's under pressure to defeat pro-Taliban militants in the country's tribal areas bordering Afghanistan while reviving the sluggish economy.

A suicide bomber killed at least 32 people today at a roadside market in the northwestern city of Kohat, the latest in a series of deadly attacks. The government began a 10-week military offensive in May that killed 1,800 militants including Taliban commanders.

Military Technology

Asked whether his wife would have followed the same policies, Zardari said "I think she would have done the same decisions much better than me."

He said he'd like the U.S. and Europe to share more military technology to help defeat the Taliban, especially drones. "We are doing what we can and we would appreciate the world helping us and supporting us," he said.

The U.S. is pressing Pakistan to continue its offensives against the Taliban and other militant groups. President Barack Obama has said a U.S. non-military aid package to Pakistan worth $1.5 billion a year is conditional on the government cracking down on Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in areas bordering Afghanistan.