TASHKENT
\nForeign Minister of Pakistan Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has stressed the need for enhancing connectivity among the SCO member countries through building rail, road, sea and air links for realization of the shared vision.
\nAddressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Tashkent, he said within the SCO space, shared goals for shared prosperity should be our guiding principle.
\nBilawal reaffirmed Pakistan\u2019s unflinching commitment to the goals and principles of the SCO Charter and the \u201cShanghai Spirit.\u201d He mentioned that SCO was a formidable trans-regional, multilateral Organization \u2013 representing 41 percent of global population, 22 percent of world\u2019s landmass, and 23 percent of global GDP.
\nHe said the world was facing planet, today, is facing an existential threat in the shape of climate change. The foreign minister said the overall economic, social and psychological impact of Covid-19 pandemic was yet to be fully grasped, let alone mitigated.
\nHe mentioned the re-emergence of military conflict in different parts of the world and unprecedented hike of fuel and food prices as challenges taking a heavy toll on nations and citizens across the globe.
\nHe said Pakistan believed that the best course in these turbulent times was to renew faith in the time-honoured principles of inter-state relations and to reinforce the resilience of institutions.
\n\u201cThe centrality of the principles of non-use or threat of use of force, respect for sovereignty and territory integrity, pacific settlement of disputes, and equal security for all, cannot be stressed enough,\u201d he said. He said it was the considered view that peaceful coexistence and cooperation \u2013 and not confrontation \u2013 must be the key drivers of global politics.
\nOn Afghanistan, he said after 40 years of conflict and instability, there was finally a prospect of forging sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan. \u201cWe acknowledge the steps taken to improve the security environment and fight the terrorist threat from Daesh,\u201d he said.
\nBilawal said Pakistan had extended humanitarian relief assistance and continues to open up avenues for more trade, transit trade, cross-border facilitation, and connectivity. He stressed it was equally important to defreeze Afghanistan\u2019s financial assets. He said the international community must also maintain constructive engagement and practical cooperation with Afghanistan.
\nBilawal said the Afghan interim authorities, for their part, should take steps to address the international community\u2019s expectations about inclusivity; respect for the rights of all Afghans, including girls\u2019 education; and effective counter-terrorism actions.
\nHe said the SCO Afghanistan Contact Group was a useful platform that can also be utilized for enhanced outreach. \u201cFor its part, Pakistan will remain strongly committed to a peaceful, stable, sovereign, prosperous and connected Afghanistan and work with international partners to advance our shared objectives,\u201d he said.
\nHe said terrorism was one of the major threats that the international community continued to face. He said the valiant people, armed forces, and law enforcement personnel had made tremendous sacrifices in Pakistan\u2019s determined fight to eliminate this scourge.
\n\u201cPakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including state-terrorism perpetrated against people living under foreign occupation in disputed territories,\u201d he said. He said the phenomenon of terrorism continued to evolve, the growing levels of intolerance, emergence of extremist and hegemonic ideologies, and Islamophobic impulses, have imparted a different level of lethality to this threat.
\nBilawal said the growth and prosperity of SCO region was also dependent on critical drivers such as e-commerce, digitalization of businesses, innovation, and security of international supply chains. He called for deepening interactions between the business communities through the SCO business council.
\nThe foreign minister said to advance this objective, Pakistan would be hosting an interaction between SCO businessmen and entrepreneurs by end 2022. He said SCO region also faced an urgent need for a development funding mechanism.
\nBilawal emphasized the roadmap for a stage-wise development of national systems aimed at the use of national currencies is, therefore, an important initiative that we hope would lead to enhancing intra-SCO trade. He stressed enhancing connectivity through building rail, road, sea and air links remains critical for the realization of our shared vision.
\nHe proposed the \u201cStrategy for Developing Connectivity and Creating Efficient Transport Corridors.\u201d He said Pakistan was actively working on the Trans-Afghan Railway (TAR) project with the brothers in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. \u201cIt will provide a crucial link from Central Asia to the seaports in Pakistan, providing a natural trans-shipment link to the SCO region,\u201d he said.
\nHe said Pakistan was keen to develop mutually beneficial arrangements for the SCO countries in the area of trans-shipment, warehousing, multimodal transportation and so on. He said the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of BRI, already served as a pivotal platform to help promote connectivity and regional prosperity.
\nHe announced that Pakistan would also be hosting a virtual Conference on \u201cTransport Connectivity for Regional Prosperity\u201d later this year. He said Pakistan was endeavoring to build the foundation for a strong e-commerce ecosystem. \u201cThis includes a sound regulatory environment, financial inclusion, and digitization through payment infrastructure,\u201d he said.
\nHe said the government\u2019s policy was focused on empowering youth, women and SMEs to benefit from digitalization and to provide economic opportunities to over 130 million youth in Pakistan. He said towards this objective, Pakistan would be hosting the conference on \u2018Youth Empowerment through Digital Economy\u2019 later this year.
\nHe said ensuring food security in the face of severe climatic changes as well as volatility caused by conflicts is of critical importance for us all. He mentioned that recent proposals to train farmers; exchange of technology and exhibitions were important initiatives to strengthen the capacity of our growers and farmers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TASHKENT Foreign Minister of Pakistan Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has stressed the need for enhancing connectivity among the SCO member countries through building rail, road, sea and air links for realization of the shared vision. Addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Tashkent, he said within the SCO space, shared goals […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-274424","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n