ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday issued an ominously loud warning shot to Afghanistan to start behaving peacefully and stop allowing use of its suburbs for harbouring the unleashed methodology of terrorism inside Pakistan.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while presiding over an all-important conclave of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), also highlighted in an underscoring manner to draw maximum benefits from the acute potentiality of this fertile and mineral-rich region by tending to carve-out a joint mechanism of materialising the due endeavours envisaged as a result of the assembly of the conference delegates from varied parts of the regional globe.
He maintained that “a stable Afghanistan is not only desirable but essential to fully realising these great opportunities,” adding, “The international community must step forward with urgent humanitarian support while calling upon the Afghan interim government to embrace political inclusivity.”
SCO summit: terrorism, extremism must be fought collectively, says PM Shehbaz
Sharif also called for an end to Gaza genocide, saying this highest order of tyranny cannot be placed to rot in the mill of ignorance in all forms of likelihood under any realm of possibility.
Sobbing aloud, the PM dubbed the poverty in SCO region as “moral imperative” stressing the need for collective measures to battle out and defeat this menacingly social curse.
He said that climate change is yet another kick in the teeth of this chaotic region, for which there is a need to hush up in defence mode instead of remaining bedded in the slumber of wishful thoughts.
Sharif recalled the devastating 2002 floods in Pakistan, “when millions of people in this country were living under open skies, millions of acres of standing crops were washed away, millions of houses were all drowned”.
“Pakistan’s economy suffered losses worth approximately $30 billion “for no fault of ours”, he added.
He said that the “flagship projects like the Belt and Road Initiative of President Xi Jinping; the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is in its second phase; and the international north-south transport corridor should be expanded, focusing on developing road, rail and digital infrastructure (…)”.
“Let us not look at such projects through the narrow political prism, and invest in our collective connectivity capacity which is crucial in advancing the shared vision of an economically integrated region,” he added.
The prime minister said the SCO connectivity framework “should not merely boost regional trade but also advance the vision of connected Eurasia”.
He noted that economic collaboration was at the heart of SCO engagement and that investment in regional infrastructure was “indispensable for promoting economic integration”.
The prime minister called on the SCO members to “endorse a strategy for the development of Energy Cooperation 2030 and the establishment of the Association of Investors”.
Ahead of the summit, PM Shehbaz welcomed the leaders of SCO member states and posed for pictures with each of them.
He said that “reforming the global financial architecture and trade regimes is essential to fostering equitable global development.”
“Pakistan supports the establishment of an SCO alternative development funding mechanism, which could provide the impetus needed for the revival of stalled development projects.”
The prime minister noted: “Growing consensus among the member states on the use of mutual currencies for settlements is a promising development.”
“The SCO interbank union is an appropriate forum to address banking challenges and moving towards settlement with mutual currencies will shield us from global financial disruptions,” he added.
Endorsing reforms aimed at enhancing regional anti-terrorist structure, the PM stressed that the “true essence of the SCO extends beyond political alliances and economic partnerships”.
He concluded his address by reaffirming Pakistan’s deep commitment to fostering people-to-people ties to “bridge divides and promote harmony”.
At the outset of his main address, PM Sharif highlighted that “we are at a historic moment of transition where sweeping transformations are reshaping the global, social, political, and economic and security landscape.”
He went on to note that during Pakistan’s chairmanship, the SCO economic preference base enhanced cooperation between trade promotion organisations, creative economy framework, and the SCO new economic dialogue programme.
However, he added, it was “now imperative we shift to tangible action through coordinated implementation, strengthening our cooperation in the vital sectors of trade and economy”.
The prime minister also called on the SCO members to “prioritise collaboration over political differences and divisions, (…) and work hand in hand”.
PM Shehbaz then handed over the CHG’s chairmanship to Russia’s PM Mikhail Mishustin, assuring him of Pakistan’s fullest support to their presidency.
“I would like to convey my sincere thanks to all those who have worked with great commitment to ensure the smooth conduct of this meeting, in particular, our interpreters,” the premier concluded.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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