Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will leave for a visit to Saarc member countries on Monday to reaffirm Pakistan's commitment to regional co-operation besides having interaction on bilateral front and discussions on regional and global developments.
The Prime Minister would utilise the visit, his first to Saarc member countries after assuming office, to reaffirm to his interlocutor's Pakistan's commitment to regional co-operation.
He would exchange views with them on Pakistan's vision for Saarc. There would also be an opportunity for interaction on Pakistan's bilateral relation with each of the Saarc member countries as well as on regional and global developments. Besides his meetings with the Prime Ministers of Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, the Prime Minister would also call on the King of Nepal, the King of Bhutan and the President of Bangladesh.
He is visiting the Saarc capitals as Chairman of Saarc. It is a SAARC tradition to pay a visit to member countries at least once during a Chairman's tenure. Pakistan assumed the chair for Saarc at the highly successful 12th Summit held in Islamabad in January this year.
In the first leg of his visit, the Prime Minister will go to Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh from November 1-4.
The visit to India, Maldives and Sri Lanka will take place after Eid. The Prime Minister will be accompanied by a number of Ministers, Parliamentarians, Businessmen and Senior Officials of the Foreign Ministry.
During its Chairmanship, Pakistan has taken a number of initiatives to revitalise SAARC and to strengthen co-operation within South Asia. Several important meetings were held in Pakistan in the last ten months since the 12th Saarc Summit.
Pakistan has also been proactive in its efforts to enhance the global standing of the Association and encouraged closer collaboration between Saarc and other international and regional organisations including EU, GCC, Asean, UN Agencies and International Financial Institutions.
As the current Chairman, Pakistan is also making efforts for an observer status for Saarc at the United Nations.
A decision to this affect was taken by the Heads of State/Government at the 12th Saarc Summit.
It was also pursued by the Foreign Ministers of member countries at the 25th Council for Ministers meetings in Islamabad in July and subsequently in New York in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Pakistan has also initiated discussions at the regional level on energy, which is one of the most important developments.
For regional co-operation, development of energy connectivity, transport infrastructure, co-operation in information and communication technology are essential.
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