Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervez Ashraf has called for collective efforts to lead the region to economic prosperity.
He said that the members of Parliamentary Assembly of Economic Cooperation Organization (PAECO) shared a common destiny of progress and prosperity.
The Speaker was addressing the third General Conference of the PAECO titled “Cooperation in Post-Pandemic Period: Challenges and Opportunities for Recovery” in Baku, Azerbaijan on Tuesday.
He said that PAECO had become a robust parliamentary mechanism for pushing the ideals of shared economic prosperity, said a press release issued here.
He said that centuries of shared history, ethno-cultural similarities and linguistic links in our societies are closely knitted to each other as our people have a lot in common.
The Speaker said as representatives of the people, it is our obligation to resolve all issues faced by common people. He said that the Pandemic exposed the weak health system and dwindling economies. He said that regional cooperation is imperative to tackle the challenges perpetrated by COVID-19.
Referring to the huge natural potential, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said that ten countries in ECO region have no dearth of resources, talent and potential and yet we look outwards for the solution to our regional challenges.
He said that reportedly, 3 out of the 17 countries owning the bulk of the energy wealth of the world, namely Crude oil, natural gas and coal were hailing from the ECO region.
He said that the ten ECO countries which were slightly more than the size of total European Union market of 478 million people, lurk in conflict, destitution and darkness.
He said that the ECO region offer a joint market of 500 million inhabitants, which makes up as much as 10 percent of the total humanity.
Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf called upon all the leaders being the representatives of people, to seek comprehensive answer to the agony of their people. He said that creating consensus and help write a new page of common prosperity for our region was news of the hour.
He called for seeking solutions on global and regional issues collectively for the betterment of our people.
While referring to the struggle of the people of Karabagh for freedom, he highlighted the plight of the people of Jammu and Kashmir where innocent people are subjected to continued torture, discrimination, and denial of their birthright of self-determination.
He also said that Afghanistan was an important member of this organization and peace in Afghanistan was imperative for regional peace.
He said, Pakistan has time and again reiterated its principled policy stance that there is no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan, urging all sides to re-engage in talks for lasting peace. He said that it was time to build a partnership for mutual cooperation and development.
The Speaker expressed his gratitude to Madame Sahiba Ghafarova, her Parliament and the Government of Azerbaijan for the warm hospitality and the excellent arrangements of this Conference.
He said that the successful organization of this conference indicates the members’ countries’ commitment to the ideals and progress of ECO.
He said that “Founded in 2013 in Islamabad, PAECO was also revived by us in Pakistan last year, when seven out of ten Member Parliaments signed the PAECO Charter and five of them ratified it”.
