BEIJING: Pakistan is well placed position for facilitating the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members in improving regional connectivity as the Central Asia countries are land-locked, and Pakistan is ideally located to provide shorter sea access to these countries, Secretary General of SCO Zhang Ming said.
He said, “this will facilitate trade among SCO member states and even beyond”, China Economic Net (CEN) reported.
In an answer to “what is the impact of SCO on Pakistan’s economy”, he remarked that the transport corridors stand to benefit all the member states, leading to a win-win cooperation.
“SCO is a multi-dimensional organization in terms of its scope and functions, Pakistan can benefit greatly from it,” he added. During his stay in Pakistan, the Secretary General met Ministers of Commerce, Climate Change, Information Technology and Maritime Affairs to discuss a wide range of aspects on how Pakistan can contribute and benefit from SCO. Pakistani officials are also positive about Ming’s maiden visit to Islamabad.
While highlighting the importance of this visit, Director General, Foreign Ministry of Pakistan, Muhammad Mudassir Tipu said that the visit of Secretary General SCO to Pakistan is of great significance.
It will provide an important platform for Pakistan to promote socio-economic cooperation within a very rich region with an enormous potential to grow and expand.
“It will also help explore ideas and approaches to expand CPEC and BRI across the region and promote greater connectivity”, he added.
Faisal Afridi, Chairman JW Group (partner with Haier & MG) in Pakistan also hoped that SCO Secretary General’s visit to Pakistan can play an instrumental role in rejuvenating regional economies.
Pakistan’s location straddling across South, West, and Central Asia also makes Pakistan a pivot for regional integration.
Earlier, SCO Secretary General Zhang Ming said Pakistan is ideally located for providing the land-locked SCO members with a shorter sea access.
Delivering a speech at Institute of Strategic Studies (ISS) during his four-day visit to Pakistan, he said the connectivity would facilitate trade among the SCO member states and even beyond. He said the transport corridors stood to benefit all SCO members, leading to a win-win situation.
He talked about the structure, functions and history of the SCO in detail. Shedding light on the difference among the member states, he said the organisation was established on the guiding principles of the Shanghai Spirit. Although, it started as a regional security organisation, it expanded its functioning later to the economy, politics and people-to-people contacts. The SCO was expanding. It started with the inclusion of Pakistan and India as its permanent members. Iran applied for full membership and after fulfilling the criteria for the membership, it would be granted permanent member status eventually. He said the SCO family now comprised 21 members.
Earlier, Dr Talat Shabbir from the ISS presented the address of welcome. Khalid Mahmood, chairperson, BoG, ISS, also spoke on the occasion. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Friday highlighted the importance of regular exchanges with Iran to advance economic and trade relations, energy cooperation, regional security and connectivity.
During a meeting with Iran’s Special Representative to the President on Afghanistan Hassan Kazemi Ghomi, Bilawal reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to a peaceful, stable, prosperous and connected Afghanistan.
