British PM arrives in Pakistan for visit

British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived in Pakistan on Saturday evening for a visit.

Blair's visit is for the third round of Bilateral Summit Consultations as agreed in the Joint Statement titled "Partnership for Peace and Prosperity" issued during Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's visit to London in December 2004, Pakistani officials said.

During Blair's visit, Pakistan and Britain will ink a Development Partnership Agreement, enhancing Britain's development assistance to Pakistan from 236 million British pounds (or 446 million U.S. dollars) to 480 million British pounds (or 907 million U.S. dollars), according to a statement issued by the Pakistani Foreign Ministry on Saturday.

"The British prime minister's visit would provide a significant boost to the sustainability of the momentum generated over the last few months," said the statement.

In addition to his meeting with President Musharraf, Blair will have an interaction with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

Blair's meetings are scheduled for Sunday, according to the British High Commission.

Local reports said that the visit is likely to focus on the deteriorating security situation in neighboring Afghanistan.

Source: Xinhua