Pakistan for Promotion of Regional CooperationPakistani President Muhammad Rafiq Tarar on Wednesday said that "One of the biggest challenges being faced by this region is the attainment of sustainable economic growth through peaceful co-existence and global political cooperation."He made the remarks while inaugurating the first Ministerial Meeting on Energy of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) of Central and West Asian nations. President Rafiq Tarar said that countries in the region have entered a new millennium with new challenges and opportunities. He underlined the need of forging united front through greater regional cooperation to face the new challenges. Tarar said the ECO region with its vast human and natural resources has the potential of emerging into the effective international economic force. Projects and plans undertaken by this Organization testify that ECO can be instrumental in bringing about convergence of interest among Member States as well as other countries of the region, he added. However, he observed, so far, ECO has not been able to achieve the optimal level of cooperation. It has to work hard to overcome the impediments and road blocks while keeping intact the national interests of its Member States. Tarar said Pakistan enjoys a unique geo-political position in Asia. "We are keen to see a prosperous, developed, and stable ECO regional block", he added. Pakistan, he further said, realized the importance of regional cooperation in achieving the objective of sustainable economic development, which will enhance their ability to address the issues of poverty alleviation, socio-economic progress, health, education and environmental protection. The meeting is attended by the representatives of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, the Jyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. |
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