State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Nawabzada Malik Ahmad Khan on Monday said that the imperatives of South Asia's socio-economic development demand greater political commitment to build on convergences and resolve the differences.
The minister expressed these views while addressing a seminar on 'Socio-Economic prospects in the Saarc region-the way forward' on South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc) charter day, which was organised by Saarc Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI). 'Let me assure you that Pakistan for its part will spare no effort to translate the vision of Saarc Charter into reality,' the minister added.
He said that we must align our voices in the condemnation of terror attack in Mumbai which has not only thwarted the pace of regional co-operation but also seriously undermined peace and security in our region. We hope that Pakistan and India would continue their engagement to address each other's concerns and help each other in investigating the Mumbai attacks, he added.
He said that in South Asia today, we have a shared responsibility to channel our energies towards the betterment of our people who constitute one fifth of this planet's population. South Asia has the resources and skills needed to meet our development challenges: poverty, hunger, disease, economic disparities, migration, unemployment, environmental degradation and natural disasters, he added.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Tariq Sayeed, president, Saarc CCI said that lack of political commitment, protectionists policies, non-resolution of issues have been regarded as the main hurdles in the process of development of South Asia.
He said that the cost of terror for any nation is unbearable as life, property, income, sentiments and above all economy reels from terror attacks. The approach for facing this challenge individually has been a failure. There is a dire need for adoption of cohesive approach and combined strategy, as the terrorist activities have become a common problem for the region particularly for India and Pakistan, he added.
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