BEIJING, July 15 (APP): The participation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar in the Meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) indicates that Pakistan attaches great importance to the SCO Charter spirit and cooperation process, regards the SCO as a priority in Pakistani foreign policies.
Pakistan is committed to strengthening cooperation with other member states through this organization and enhancing its influence in regional affairs.
This was stated by Prof. Cheng Xizhong, Senior Research Fellow at the Charhar Institute in a statement issued here on Tuesday.
He said that the purpose of this SCO Foreign Ministers’ Council meeting is to make overall preparations for the Tianjin Summit. The foreign ministers of the member states coordinate the relevant agenda and content of the summit, exchange views on cooperation in various fields of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and major international and regional issues, and sign a series of resolutions and document.
Member states of the SCO have extensive room for cooperation in such fields as economy, trade and environment.
Pakistan, he said, may leverage this platform to jointly explore with other member states measures to strengthen economic partnerships, promote trade and investment cooperation, and boost its own economic development.
For example, the 2024 meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of SCO Member States was held in Islamabad, at which key measures to enhance economic partnerships among member states were adopted, providing Pakistan with opportunities to strengthen trade and economic ties with major international partners, he added.
Prof Cheng said that in recent years, the SCO’s “circle of friends” has been constantly expanding, and the cooperation has been increasingly enriched, evolving from the “two-wheel driven” of security and economic cooperation to the multi-track advancement.
The participation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar in the meeting is conducive to Pakistan’s cooperation with other member states in a wider range of fields and the sharing of development, he added.