Pakistan
committed to spirit of SAFTA: PM
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD—Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that SAARC can serve as a
platform to promote regional cooperation, peace , prosperity and harmony
and sharing of best practices in South Asia.
Talking to the out going High Commissioner of Sri Lanka C S Weerasooriya
here on Friday, he emphasized, the organization should be further
energized to achieve its objectives. Shaukat Aziz said Pakistan is
committed to the spirit of South Asia Free Trade Agreement which will
facilitate economic cooperation and give a boost to trade between SAARC
member states.
The Prime Minister said as the international system is moving away from
geo politics to geo economics, technical exchanges, economic cooperation
and sharing of human capital is of vital importance and Pakistan and
Brazil need to explore avenues for further cooperation in these areas.
The Prime Minister said President General Pervez Musharraf’s recent
visit, the first visit by a Pakistan head of state to Brazil
significantly contributed to strengthening of relations between the two
countries.
The Prime Minister appreciated that a number of Brazilian companies have
shown interest to invest in Pakistan and said Pakistan welcomes all such
initiatives. The Prime Minister appreciated the positive role played by
Fausto M. Godoy to enhance cooperation between the two countries during
his tenure in Pakistan. Fausto M. Godoy said during his stay in Pakistan
he enjoyed the hospitality extended by the people andthe government of
Pakistan. The ambassador thanked the Prime Minister and the Pakistan
government for extending cooperation in discharge of their duties.
The Prime Minister wished him well in his future assignments. Agencies
Add: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that resolution of the Kashmir
issue in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiri
people will ensure sustainable peace in South Asia as well as enabling
India and Pakistan to leverage their full economic potential. The Prime
Minister said this while talking to Prime Minister, Azad Jammu and
Kashmir (AJK) Sardar Attique Ahmad Khan, who called on him Friday
morning.
The Prime Minister said that a just settlement of the Kashmir dispute
will also enable India and Pakistan to leverage their full economic
potential and would help in bringing about a qualitative improvement in
the lives of their people.
The Prime Minister noted with satisfaction that normalcy is gradually
returning to the earthquake affected areas and said that the government
is focusing on livelihood programmes to enable the people earn their
living on permanent basis in a respectable manner. Reconstruction is a
major challenge and the results achieved with the help of ERRA, Donors,
NGOs and the Federal and AJK governments are encouraging, he said. |
