23rd SCO meeting begins in Islamabad

The 23rd meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (CHG) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), presided by Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif, began in Islamabad on Wednesday. The delegates from the member countries and observer group including China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus participated in the meeting. The meeting is being attended by the heads of government of eight member states, while Iran and India are represented by their ministers. Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan Zhaparov Akylbek, Belarus Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko, Prime Minister Tajikistan Qohir Rasulzoda, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov, Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov, Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsarai and Turkmenistan's Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Rashid Meredov, Indian Minister for External Affairs Subrahmany am Jaishankar, attended the summit. In his opening remarks, Sharif said: "This meeting is another testament to the strength of our ties and collaboration among the diverse nations." He emphasized that SCO has the potential to drive socio-economic progress, enhance regional peace and stability and to improve the quality of life for its citizens, adding that this opportunity should be used to exchange ideas, share best practices and forge concrete action plans that will benefit the member states' economies and societies. Optimistic for wonderful outcomes that will hopefully emerge from today's valuable discussion and in-depth deliberations, Sharif called upon the SCO members to work together for a well-connected, integrated and prosperous region. He added that Pakistan supports all SCO connectivity initiatives, underscoring the importance of the establishment of a robust SCO connectivity framework which should not merely boost regional trade but should also advance the vision of connected Euro-Asia. He furt her said that projects such as Belt and Road Initiative and the International North South Transport Corridor should be expanded, focusing on developing road, rail and digital infrastructure. The Prime Minister said Pakistan welcomes the decisions to ensure and endorse the strategy for the development of energy cooperation 2030 and the establishment of the Association of Investors. Highlighting the importance of a stable Afghanistan, he said it is not only desirable but essential to fully realizing the great opportunities, urging the international community to step forward with urgent humanitarian support for Afghanistan and called upon the Afghan interim government to ensure that their soil is not misused for terrorism against its neighbors by any entity. The Pakistani premier called for closer collaboration for poverty alleviation in the SCO region, saying that the member countries should continue to provide the required impetus to collective efforts to address the root causes of poverty and uplift the qu ality of life for our peoples. On the issue of climate change, Sharif said that this existential crisis transcends borders, pointing out that Pakistan is on the frontline of climate-induced disasters. Source: Kuwait News Agency