ISLAMABAD, 22 July (Online): Secretary General Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Zhang Ming on Friday said Pakistan due to its well-placed location could play a role in facilitating the SCO member
\ncountries for an improved regional connectivity. <\/p>\n
Speaking at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) during his four-day visit to Pakistan, he said Pakistan was ideally located to provide shorter sea access to the land-locked Central Asian countries.<\/p>\n
The SCO Secretary General said, \u201cThis will facilitate the trade among SCO member states and even beyond\u201d. <\/p>\n
He said the transport corridors stand to benefit all the member states, leading to win-win cooperation.<\/p>\n
He said SCO was a multi-dimensional organization in terms of its scope and functioning and Pakistan can benefit greatly from it.<\/p>\n
Secretary General SCO Zhang Ming talked about the structure, functions, and history of the SCO in detail. <\/p>\n
While shedding light on the difference among the member states, he mentioned that the organization was established on the guiding principles of the Shanghai Spirit. <\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough it started as a regional security organization, it expanded its functioning later to the economy, politics, and people-to-people contacts,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Zhang said SCO was expanding and it started with the inclusion of Pakistan and India as its permanent members. <\/p>\n
Iran applied for full membership and, after fulfilling the criteria of the membership, it will be granted permanent member status eventually, he added. <\/p>\n
He informed the audience that, now, the SCO family comprised of 21 members.<\/p>\n
Zang Ming said China was an important member country of SCO. <\/p>\n
\u201cSince its inception, it has been contributing to enhancing cooperation among the member states, particularly in the area of economic development,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
However, he particularly emphasized that SCO functions upon consensus-based principle, hence equally empowering all the members. <\/p>\n
Earlier, in his welcome remarks, Dr. Talat Shabbir, Director China-Pakistan Study Center (CPSC) gave a brief introduction of ISSI vision, functions, and its five centers of excellence.<\/p>\n
He highlighted the major features of SCO, its achievements, the challenges that it is facing, and Pakistan\u2019s contributions to it.<\/p>\n
Ambassador Khalid Mahmood , Chairman BoG ISSI, presented ISSI memento to Zhang Ming. <\/p>\n
The event was attended by academics, diplomatic community, students, and media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD, 22 July (Online): Secretary General Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Zhang Ming on Friday said Pakistan due to its well-placed location could play a role in facilitating the SCO member countries for an improved regional connectivity. Speaking at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) […]<\/p>\n
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