Pakistan’s national statement was given during today’s SCO Council of Heads of State Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.
Pakistan’s strong adherence to the SCO Charter and values was reaffirmed by the Prime Minister in his statement, which also expressed Pakistan’s support for the organization’s reforms and growth. Along with congratulating President Xi Jinping on taking over as SCO Chair for the next two years, he also hailed Belarus’s admission as a full member of the organization.
Pakistan’s foreign policy places a high premium on collaboration with the SCO, according to the prime minister. In order to achieve socioeconomic development, he urged group action under the SCO platform. He also argued for improved regional connection achieved by means of dependable supply chains and effective transportation routes. He stated that CPEC complements the SCO’s goal of regional connectivity and integration and that Pakistan is the best trade route for the area.
The Prime Minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to a sustainable and environmentally friendly world with regards to climate change. He called on rich nations to increase their assistance to underdeveloped nations in mitigating the effects of climate change and adapting to them. He also praised the SCO Agreement on Environmental Protection.
The Prime Minister urged strengthening cooperative efforts to increase living standards in the SCO region, while also stressing the financial difficulties that the SCO countries confront as a result of international conflicts and pandemics.
The Prime Minister appealed for long-lasting peace and security in Afghanistan, stressing that SCO Member States have a common interest in maintaining regional peace and stability.
The prime minister called for coordinated and all-encompassing action against extremism and terrorism in the statement, saying that these ideologies must be denounced in all of their forms. He added that killing innocent people was never justified and that using the terrorist threat as a political football was a bad idea. According to him, Pakistan opposes policies that sow division and encourage hatred based on race and religion.
Most importantly, the prime minister stressed the need to uphold the internationally acknowledged concepts of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the fundamental right to self-determination of people. He also claimed that resolutions from the UN Security Council provided a practical framework for resolving protracted conflicts, including those in the area. The people had endured unspeakable agony as a result of the resolutions’ failure to be put into action.
The prime minister said that thousands of innocent civilians had been slain by Israel’s indiscriminate bombing of Palestine. In addition to categorically rejecting Israel’s savagery, he demanded an instantaneous and unconditional cessation of hostilities in order to realize the two-state solution and establish the State of Palestine with its capital city of Al-Quds and pre-1967 borders.
According to the prime minister, Pakistan is excited to welcome the SCO Council of Heads of Government to Islamabad in October of this year. Pakistan will make an effort to take proactive steps to encourage stable development and would actively seek out constructive cooperation from all SCO member states.
