Islamabad, Nov 8 (ANI): Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has laid out his five-point development plan for the region, stressing enhanced trade, energy, and road links, while calling for an inclusive solution to Afghanistan.
Addressing the 10th meeting of Heads of Government Council of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held in Russia's historical city, Gilani said that greater cooperation among regional countries as a whole are crucial for development and prosperity in this part of the world.
The development plan includes arranging finance and initiation of work on electricity transmission lines, taking concrete measures to start TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) and Iran-Pakistan-India gas line projects, setting up a preferential and if possible a free trade zones in the SCO region, cooperation in the financial and banking sectors; and relaxation of visa regimes for diplomats, officials and businessmen, The Express Tribune reports.
Gilani said Pakistan attached great importance to the SCO and believed that this organisation had the capacity and resolve to overcome the most pressing challenges of the times. He added that the SCO had the enormous potential to promote regional economic cooperation in a holistic manner.
He mentioned that terrorism, extremism, drugs and syndicate crime were confronting the societies, states and the region.
Terming termed security and development as important regional issues, Gilani said that the challenges of reconciliation, reconstruction and revival of Afghan polity needed to be addressed objectively. (ANI)
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