German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Tuesday (October 28) Pakistan had just a 'few days' to raise billions of dollars in foreign loans to avert a looming financial crisis.

The German foreign minister while addressing a joint press conference here with his Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Pakistan must secure a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) within a week to avert the grave financial crisis.

He said, "I hope the decision will be taken soon. It won’t help to have it in six months or six weeks, rather we need it in the coming six days. Then one can perhaps avoid the most difficult situation in Pakistan."

He said Germany would help Pakistan in negotiating a deal with the IMF. "We want to support Pakistan not only in fair weather but also in stormy weather," he added.

Earlier, the visiting German foreign minister held separate talks with President Asif Ali Zardari and foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

He said Germany, which was Europe's biggest economy, and other countries were discussing a separate package of assistance for Pakistan to boost faltering economic growth.

Foreign minister Qureshi said Steinmeier had been very supportive of Pakistan in talks with its foreign backers.

He said Pakistan had also sought Germany's assistance in accessing European markets.

He said Germany was Pakistan's largest trading partner in the EU and it would like withdrawal of anti-dumping duties on Pakistani textiles that constituted 69 per cent of its total exports.

He said Pakistan and Germany, in their talks, underlined the need to upgrade their bilateral relations on economic, political, military and cultural areas and agreed on initiating a strategic dialogue.

He stressed upon the need of improved economic relations with Germany saying that what Pakistan was looking forward to was not aid but trade.

He said Pakistan had suggested regular interaction with Germany at the foreign ministers' level besides a strategic dialogue at the Foreign Secretaries level to strengthen ties between the two countries.

The German Foreign Minister said his country would extend short- and long-term support to Pakistan at the 'Friends of Pakistan' meeting in mid-November in Abu Dhabi.

He said, "We need to talk about ways and means so that the international community can provide assistance to Pakistan, specially in the border and tribal areas."

The German foreign minister appreciated the ongoing dialogue and jirga between Pakistan and Afghanistan and hoped that the process would continue and would also help in normalizing the volatile situation in tribal areas.

He said the political relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan needed to be decisive as those were vital for achieving stability in the region.

He also noted the resolve of Pakistani government in fighting terrorism and urged what he termed a "balanced mix" of military, political and economic measures to address the situation in the tribal areas.

Foreign minister Qureshi appreciated Germany's support at the Friends of Pakistan initiative and termed it "encouraging, supportive and positive", particularly in areas of education, uplift of tribal areas and in developing cooperation.

Responding to a question on alleged US attacks on Pakistan’s tribal areas, the German foreign minister mentioned the statements and the clear policy of Pakistani leaders on the issue saying it was now up to the country’s leadership to see how it wanted to address the matter.