CICA Summit helped revive Pakistan's focus on energy, trade, regional connectivity: PM Shehbaz

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday that the 6th summit of Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), which concluded in Astana, Kazakhstan, helped bring Pakistan's focus back on energy, trade and regional connectivity.

He stated in a tweet that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting last month also played its part in diverting focus to essential sectors of Pakistan.

“South and Central Asia have distinct advantages that we plan to leverage for win-win outcomes,” the PM said. “Deeper engagement with Central Asian Republics is central plank of our government’s aims to rebuild and strengthen Pakistan's foreign policy that was damaged by Imran Khan.”

He stated that in all his interactions with world leaders, he is forcefully presenting Pakistan as a credible partner ready to do business.

On Thursday, the PM stated that regional stability was essential to revive rapid and equitable economic growth in Pakistan.

Speaking at CICA summit, the PM stated that Pakistan desired peaceful relations with all its neighbours, including India.

CICA Summit helped revive Pakistan’s focus on energy, trade, regional connectivity: PM Shehbaz

“Until India halts its atrocities in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), a just and lasting peace will remain elusive," he told the world leaders. "For seven decades, India has defied the will of United Nations, as reflected through the two United Nations (UN) resolutions on Kashmir, and trampled the will of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, by denying them the right of self-determination."

He urged all the nations to “look behind the gloss of Indian democracy and recognise the brutal nature of its policies in IIOJK.”

In this terrorised valley, India brandishes democracy not through the ballot, but through its bullet, the PM said.

"A peaceful, stable, united and prosperous Afghanistan is in best interest of Pakistan, the entire region and the international community,” he underlined. “We call upon the world to support the people of Afghanistan in their quest for sustainable peace, stability and development."

He stressed that Pakistan attached great importance to the CICA platform because the conference was playing an important role in enhancing cooperation and promoting trust and understanding in the Asian continent.

"Pakistan is living through a colossal climate-induced calamity,” he stated. “Unprecedented rains and flooding that have submerged more than one-third of my country are, without any doubt, the consequence of global warming and climate change."

What makes the situation more tragic is that even though Pakistan is responsible for less than 1% of global carbon emissions but the nation is still among the top ten countries most severely impacted by climate change, the PM lamented.