TASHKENT, July 29: 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 for shared prosperity should be our guiding principle.
Bilawal reaffirmed Pakistan’s unflinching commitment to the goals and principles of the SCO Charter and the “Shanghai Spirit.” He mentioned that SCO was a formidable trans-regional, multilateral Organization – representing 41 percent of global population, 22 percent of world’s landmass, and 23 percent of global GDP.
He 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.
He 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.
He 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.
“The 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,” he said. He said it was the considered view that peaceful coexistence and cooperation – and not confrontation – must be the key drivers of global politics.
On Afghanistan, he said after 40 years of conflict and instability, there was finally a prospect of forging sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan. “We acknowledge the steps taken to improve the security environment and fight the terrorist threat from Daesh,” he said. -NNI
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