Stating that it has consistently supported the political and economic aspirations of Africa, Pakistan on Friday called for addressing multifarious root causes of conflicts on the continent.
"This is vital to prevent relapse into conflict and pertinent for immediate and long-term recovery in post conflict situations," Pakistan's delegate Asad Khan told the UN General Assembly.
He was speaking in a debate on causes of conflict and the promotion of peace in Africa, sustainable development on the continent and efforts to roll back malaria there.
Asad Khan said years of discussion and lessons learned from conflict prevention, peacemaking and peacekeeping had led to the establishment of the Peace-building Commission, of which Pakistan is a member. The indispensable United Nations tool of peacekeeping was vital for restoring peace and stability in conflict situations, and it had proved its usefulness in Africa.
Pakistan's support for the mechanism was demonstrated by its role of a leading troop contributor. Currently, it was participating in six of the seven peace-keeping operations on the African Continent with a contribution of more than 9,000 personnel.
He highlighted the accomplishments of New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) in its first five years and said it had generated a new momentum of action for Africa's development by designing sectoral policy frameworks, implementing programmes and projects, and establishing targets for expenditure in sectoral priority areas, including in infrastructure, health, education, agriculture and environment, among others. Asad Khan said Pakistan provided bilateral assistance to Africa in the economic, social, technical and military spheres.