ISLAMABAD, Sep 10 (APP): Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Thursday said that Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was a vital platform for forging closer synergy with regional partners and realizing benefits of emerging confluence between Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).
In his remarks at meeting of SCO Council of Foreign Ministers in Moscow, the foreign minister said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship project of BRI, supplemented SCO’s vision of regional connectivity and economic integration.
He said with its network of infrastructure and energy projects and industrial parks, CPEC was destined to bring economic prosperity for Pakistan, and the region and beyond.
In particular, Special Economic Zones under CPEC offered excellent incentives for investment.“We should not view development projects, including BRI and CPEC, through myopic geopolitical angles and should give them our full support,” he remarked.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, foreign ministers of SCO member states, SCO Secretary General Vladimir Norov attended the event.
Expressing delight on Pakistan’s becoming the newest member of the SCO Youth Council, the foreign minister said that over the past 20 years, SCO had grown tremendously in stature, prestige and influence.
While resolving to actively promote cooperation in the ever-expanding and diverse range of sectors through SCO, he recommended the SCO members to work together to address the resurgence of fascist ideologies and violent nationalism anywhere in the world especially in our region.
He urged the SCO to focus on promoting regional connectivity projects. “We must not view these projects through a narrow political prism rather whole-heartedly pursue them for the achievement of sustainable development in the region,” he added.
The foreign minister also called for pooling scientific and technical resources of SCO members to carry out joint research in diverse fields, foremost with an objective to find an effective vaccine for the COVID-19 virus and make it accessible to all as a global public good.
Moreover, he urged for collective work to project SCO as an effective forum for regional development and a new kind of international organization based on the ideals of “Shanghai spirit”.
Appreciating the Russian counterpart for hosting the moot, the foreign minister said despite formidable difficulties, Pakistan had continued fruitful collaboration in SCO, marked by solidarity and mutual support, under the stewardship of Russian Federation.
The foreign minister saluted the healthcare professionals, scientists and researchers who were at the vanguard of the valiant anti-COVID 19 struggle and said “on its part, Pakistan is open to share its experience in combating the pandemic in an effective manner keeping the total cases and fatalities relatively low.”
He called for countering the pandemic’s negative economic impact for what Prime Minister Imran Khan had proposed “Global Initiative for Debt Relief” for developing countries to mitigate the adverse economic repercussions.
He also opposed to politicizing the pandemic and use it for stigmatizing regions, religions or communities.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the world today was becoming increasingly multipolar with the competition between the old and emerging powers already reshaping the contours of contemporary international relations.
“It is our firm belief that in this uncertain and brutally competitive environment that is full of zero-sum prophecies, cooperation and not confrontation should be the driving force in international politics. In this context, multilateral platforms like SCO exist as a beacon of hope,” the foreign minister remarked.
He reaffirmed Pakistan’s principled position that the reform of the UN Security Council should be achieved through consensus for a more representative, democratic, effective and accountable Security Council.
He said the peaceful resolution of outstanding disputes was a pre-requisite for achieving development, economic growth, poverty alleviation and social uplift of our masses.
“In this context, we strongly emphasize the importance of faithfully implementing UN Security Council Resolutions. We must strongly condemn and oppose any unilateral and illegal measures to change the status of disputed territories in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions.
Such unilateral measures run counter to our shared objective of creating a regional environment of amity and cooperation and these must be opposed resolutely,” Qureshi remarked.
He reiterated that while supporting no-military solution to the Afghan conflict, Pakistan believed the Afghan stakeholders must seize this historic opportunity of US-Taliban agreement and work together to secure an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement.
“At the same time, it is imperative to be cognizant of the role of “spoilers” — within and outside –who do not want peace and stability to return to Afghanistan. The intra-Afghan negotiations process will not be without challenges,” he added.
He suggested that the return of Afghan refugees to their homeland with dignity and honour should be an essential part of the peace negotiations.
He said that while tackling terrorism and extremism continues to be one of SCO’s highest priorities, the member states must not allow any country to use terrorism related allegations as a political tool to malign and victimize any country, religion or race.
“We must also condemn and hold accountable the perpetrators of State terrorism against people under illegal occupation in disputed territories,” he remarked.
He believed that discussions in SCO on prevention of arms race in outer space, Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and ensuring International Information Security, would enrich the debate for having a unified stance on these issues.