Pakistan’s strategic location is ideal conduit for connectivity, Shahbaz tells SCO
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif highlighted the importance of Pakistan’s geographical location in the region on Thursday, saying it could play a pivotal role to enhance economic connectivity in the neighborhood while addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Council of Heads of State in Kazakhstan.
In his address to the summit, Pakistan’s premier raised the issue of terrorism as a major concern for member states at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit and called for “meaningful” engagement with the Afghan Taliban government.
PM Shahbaz, during his official speech, emphasized the importance of maintaining peace in the region as a precondition for economic development.
“Achieving lasting peace in Afghanistan is a lynchpin to this common objective,” he said. “The international community must meaningfully engage with the Afghan government to meet their genuine economic and development needs.”
Afghan government must “take concrete measures” to ensure its soil is not used for terrorism against any other state, he added.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif highlighted the importance of Pakistan’s geographical location in the region on Thursday, saying it could play a pivotal role to enhance economic connectivity in the neighborhood while addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Council of Heads of State in Kazakhstan.
Regarding Pakistan’s role in regional trade connectivity, the premier said that the country’s location made it an “ideal trade conduit” for the region, adding that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) supplemented “SCO’s vision of regional connectivity and economic interaction”.
PM Shehbaz also advocated for promoting national currencies for mutual settlements within the region to avoid global financial shocks, adding that alternative funding mechanisms would give impetus to different development projects in the SCO region.
“Excellencies, SCO leaders have repeatedly underscored the importance of investing in the connectivity of the SCO region through efficient transport corridors and reliable supply chains,” he said while addressing the gathering. “It is time to put these words into action. Pakistan’s location makes it an ideal trade conduit for the entire region. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the flagship project of Belt and Road initiative, supplements SCO vision of regional connectivity and economic interaction”, Shahbaz quoted to said.
