Poverty alleviation on SAARC's top agenda: PM Nawaz

Nawaz meets cabinet secretaries of Saarc countries in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Thursday Pakistan places poverty alleviation on top of SAARC agenda.

“We believe the aspirations of the people of Saarc countries should be at the center of the organisation's agenda,” the premier said, during a meeting with cabinet secretaries at the PM House.

The prime minister upheld Pakistan’s strategic location allows it to play a vital role towards intra-regional and inter-regional connectivity, particularly for developing rail and road links.

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Pakistan will host the 19th Saarc Conference in Islamabad in 2016.

“The government attaches great importance to civil service reform with a focus on performance based management to transform public sector organisations into efficient engines of service delivery,” he added.

Claiming a committee has been formed for civil service reform, the premier asked participants to give their recommendations in this regard.

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Further, the cabinet secretaries of the Saarc counties apprised PM Nawaz that member states are in the process of implementing the decisions taken during the 18th Saarc summit held in Kathmandu last year.

“Our governments are committed towards expanding regional cooperation and wish more people to people contact and increased interaction among the business persons of the two countries,” the meeting was told.

Further, they said Saarc countries can learn from the best practices of each other in various fields for the collective welfare of the Saarc states.

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Further, Nawaz said, “Pakistan considers Saarc as an important vehicle for regional cooperation and achieving peace, progress and stability in the region.”

South Asia with a market of 1.7 billion consumers, immense human capital, unexploited natural resources and a predominantly younger generation can act as an engine of economic growth for the region as well as the world at large, he said.

“With immense resources at its disposal, Saarc has the potential to transform the quality of life of the people of South Asia,” he added.

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Participants of the meeting included, Barrister Zafarullah Khan, Secretary General SAARC Arjun Bahadur Thapa, Charge De Affaires Embassy of Afghanistan Syed Abdul Nasis Yousofi, Cabinet Secretary Bangladesh Muhammad Cabinet Secretary Bhutan Dr Phuntsho Namgyel Offrg, Cabinet Secretary India Ajit Kumar Seth, Chief Secretary Nepal Leela Mani Paudyal, Cabinet Secretary Pakistan Raja Hassan Abbas, and office of the cabinet ministers Sri Lanka.