Kakar reiterates Pakistan’s commitment to ECO Vision 2025

TASHKENT (APP): Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Thursday reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to ECO Vision 2025 and called for collective efforts and accelerated reforms to achieve the organisation’s objectives.

“Let us make ECO an organisation not just of words, but actions, not just commitments but implementation. It is crucial for us to work collectively and diligently to realise the goals and objectives of the Organisation… Our region, if well connected, can bring colossal economic and peace dividends for our people,” the caretaker prime minister said addressing the 16th ECO summit here.

His address encompassed an array of issues including the ECO’s existing trade and true potential, the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Indian atrocities in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Islamophobia as well as the ECO projects of regional connectivity.

He said being blessed with natural resources, geographical linkages and cultural heritage, ECO region had been unable to exploit its true trade potential as it had just two percent share in global trade and eight percent in intraregional trade.

He said in 2022, the trade within the ECO region was recorded at $39 billion against $577 billion with the world and the intraregion exports also stood at $46 billion.

He said the ECO Vision 2025, which was adopted by the 13th ECO summit in Islamabad had called for increasing regional trade, strengthening connectivity, operationalising major transport corridors and seeking energy security.

Calling for deliberations to expand share in the global and intra-region trade, he emphasised reducing barriers, developing infrastructure, and formulating environment-friendly and sustainable policies besides reducing poverty.

Mr Kakar supported the ECO’s corridor-based approach like Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Iran (KTAI), Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul” (ITI), Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran (KTI) and others and said the integrated transport projects would help promote trade and connectivity.

Mentioning the revival of the Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad rail project, the prime minister said Pakistan was upgrading its rail infrastructure to speed up the flow of goods. He also called for opening more border points within the ECO region to enhance connectivity and trade.

He said the connectivity projects would also facilitate the private sector, and widen the scope of business and investment.

He told the regional leaders that Pakistan had established a one-window platform of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) bringing together all trade-related organisations under one umbrella. The government had identified and focused on five areas of investment, including agriculture, defence production, IT (information technology), energy and mining.

Highlighting the significance of Afghanistan in regional connectivity and execution of regional projects like CASA-1000, Trans Afghan Railway and TAPI, he said Pakistan was working closely with the ECO countries to achieve the shared goal of peaceful and interconnected Afghanistan.

About the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Kakar said the incessant and lethal Israeli bombardment on Gaza was a deplorable act calling for international condemnation.

He said the situation needed to be addressed as per the resolutions of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and United Nations Security Council (UNSC), and urged the ECO countries to push for a ceasefire and support the call for the provision of humanitarian aid, besides rallying efforts to hold Israel to account.