The perception that Pakistan is a country beset by terrorism is totally wrong, according to Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid M. Kasuri. He argues that, unlike what is often seen in the media, the number of people affected by terrorism is "next to nothing" compared with his country's large population. In an interview with Beijing Review reporters Pan Shuangqin and Yan Wei during his recent trip to Beijing, Kasuri addressed a number of issues ranging from terrorism to trade and investment.

Beijing Review: Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Pakistan last November. How are the two countries following up his visit to further promote bilateral relations?

Khurshid M. Kasuri: President Hu Jintao paid a landmark visit to Pakistan last November. It was a culmination of our efforts to lay out the architecture for China-Pakistan relations into the 21st century. We are making concerted efforts to follow up and build upon the positive momentum generated by President Hu's visit.

We are making efforts to translate the Five-Year Program on Trade and Economic Cooperation signed during the Chinese president's visit into concrete projects. A joint investment company should be launched this year. We are paying particular attention to attracting Chinese investment to Pakistan and in this regard we are establishing special economic zones for Chinese companies. Our bilateral trade crossed the $5 billion mark last year and we want to further expand it. Negotiations for a free trade agreement in services will start this year. The Joint Economic Commission will meet next month. Efforts are also underway to initiate financial and banking cooperation between the two countries.

In order to further accelerate the positive momentum, Prime Minister of Pakistan Shauket Aziz is scheduled to pay a visit to China in April.

How can China and Pakistan benefit from the free trade agreement signed during Hu's visit?

At the moment, our trade is already above $5 billion, and we have a target of $15 billion in the next five years. Currently, we must admit that the trade is heavily weighted in favor of China. We don't resent that, because we also feel that the Chinese have agreed to extend economic cooperation to Pakistan. China's economy has made great strides in the last 10 to 15 years. Pakistan hopes a lot of Chinese capital will be invested in Pakistan. These days, products are not made just in one country. Different components are made in different countries and they are assembled in yet a different country. In this way, hopefully, this imbalance of trade will be redressed. Maybe some goods will be exported from Pakistan through the efforts of the Chinese entrepreneurs who invested in Pakistan. I hope the groundwork laid by the free trade agreement and the Five-Year Program on Trade and Economic Cooperation will be utilized, because the leadership of both countries is focused on making sure that our strong political and defense relationship is underwritten by a strong economic relationship.

President Musharraf once proposed the idea of promoting Pakistan's role as an energy and trade corridor between China and the Middle East. Is there any progress on this?

Because of its strategic geographical location, Pakistan can serve as an energy corridor for China. The inauguration of Gwadar Port on March 20 is an important element of such a strategy. We are planning to initiate studies to build oil and gas pipelines and transportation networks from Pakistani ports overland to China. Our interest therefore is to develop Gwadar not only as a trans-shipment port but also as an "energy port."