Prime
Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi today participated in the 16th Meeting of the
Council of Heads of Government of the Member States of Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO) in Sochi, Russia, on the invitation of Chairman of the
Government of Russian Federation, H.E. Mr. D.A. Medvedev. A restricted meeting
of SCO member states was held earlier in the day in which the Prime Minister
also took active part. All participating states welcomed Pakistan’s presence in
the meeting for the first time as SCO full member, adding that the expansion of
SCO membership with Pakistan and India, further strengthened SCO.
The
Council of the Heads of Government exchanged views on the contemporary economic
situation, including that in the SCO. Matters pertaining to economic
development and regional integration amongst SCO Member States were also
considered.
Speaking
at the both the restricted and extended meeting of the Heads of Government
meeting, Prime Minister Abbasi thanked all member states for supporting
Pakistan’s membership of SCO. The Prime Minister added that Pakistan will work
with SCO countries to foster a favorable environment for economic, trade,
investment and technological cooperation. He also expressed interest in
promoting cooperation in the field of energy.
Prime
Minister Abbasi advocated development of mutually beneficial, transparent and
inclusive multilateral trading system under the ambit of SCO. He underscored
that China Pakistan Economic Corridor complemented SCO’s agenda of regional
economic integration and connectivity. Highlighting the importance of
economic cooperation and regional connectivity the Prime Minister offered to
connect CPEC to the 6 main trade corridors of SCO which, he said, will fulfill
the long cherished aspiration of regional land and marine connectivity between
Eurasia, Central Asia, China and South Asia.
Prime
Minister also underscored the importance of strengthening future SCO
cooperation in the field of multilateral trading system, trade facilitation and
removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers. Appreciating the efforts of
SCO Business Council and Interbank Association, he called for early
establishment of SCO Development Bank and Development Fund.
The
Prime Minister urged further investment in the fields of health, tourism,
education, sports culture and people to people contacts.
The
Prime Minister added that Pakistan intends to play an active role in the peace,
stability and development of the region.
In
the context of SCO’s Regional Anti Terrorist Structure (RATS) the Prime
Minister reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to support SCO in its fight against
the three evils of Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism.
The
Prime Minister appreciated revival of SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group to support
Afghanistan’s efforts for peaceful political settlement and combating security
and terrorism threats.
The
Prime Minister also had bilateral meetings with the Prime Ministers of Russia,
China and Kyrgyzstan and interacted with the Heads of Government participating
in the meeting. The Council adopted a number of decisions related to budget,
financial and administrative matters of SCO. The Joint Communiqué issued by the
Council focused on the economic, trade, energy, connectivity and social sector
cooperation.
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