ISLAMABAD
\nPakistan has asked the member countries of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to consider making investments in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) set up under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
\nThe call was made by Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood while delivering a keynote address at the Experts Dialogue on Pakistan-ASEAN: Shared Future and the Way Forward,\u201d co-organised by the Embassy of Indonesia and the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad (ISSI) on Friday.
\nNoting the steady trajectory of Pakistan-ASEAN relations, the foreign secretary underlined the high priority accorded by Pakistan to its relations with the Southeast Asian nations and its recognition of ASEAN\u2019s vast economic potential and its centrality in the regional architecture.
\nConsistent with \u201cVision East Asia\u201d policy, the foreign secretary underscored Pakistan\u2019s commitment to further strengthen Pakistan-ASEAN partnership in all dimensions. He specifically stressed the importance of forging closer cooperation in political, economic, security, tourism, education and socio-cultural domains. He highlighted the range of steps taken by Pakistan to foster multifaceted engagement with ASEAN and the commitment to deepen trade and economic linkages with ASEAN member states.
\nHe said that this is in line with Pakistan\u2019s economic diplomacy outreach and consistent with the leadership\u2019s emphasis on geo-economics. He also underlined the importance for Pakistani business community to see how mutually-beneficial collaboration could be achieved by engaging with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), recently concluded by ASEAN and its key trading partners.
\nThe foreign secretary reiterated Pakistan\u2019s commitment to continue working towards up-gradation of its relationship with ASEAN to the level of Full Dialogue Partner (FDP). He further emphasised the importance of hard and soft connectivity between Pakistan and ASEAN – including in transportation, communication and cyber domains, between the ports, and among the peoples.
\nPakistan has been a Sectoral Dialogue Partner of ASEAN since 1993 and has also been a member of ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) since 2004.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD Pakistan has asked the member countries of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to consider making investments in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) set up under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. The call was made by Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood while delivering a keynote address at the Experts Dialogue on Pakistan-ASEAN: Shared Future and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-201724","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n