Pakistan

Pakistan set to join SCO security bloc

The prime minister will also hold important bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the SCO summit

Our Correspondents July 07, 2015

PM Nawaz exchanges views with his Norwegian counterpart Erna Solberg. PHOTO: PID

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit this week in the Russian city of Ufa, where Pakistan and India are set to become permanent members of the emerging regional security bloc.

PM Nawaz would lead the Pakistani delegation to the meeting of the SCO Heads of States Council (HSC) in Ufa on July 9 and 10, an FO statement issued on Monday said.

Read: Pakistan, India to start process of joining China security bloc

The SCO was founded in Shanghai in 2001 and has China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as member states. The SCO’s HSC is the highest decision-making body in the organisation.

“As an observer state of the SCO, Pakistan has been making substantive contributions to regional peace, security and development,” the FO statement read. On the invitation of the Russian president, the premier will also attend the outreach meeting in Ufa among the leaders of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) forum, SCO member and observer states, Eurasian Economic Union members and Turkmenistan.

The prime minister will also hold important bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the SCO summit. Although the foreign ministry has yet to confirm, PM Nawaz is likely to meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi despite a spike in tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

Meanwhile in Beijing, Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping told a news conference that Pakistan and India would start the process of joining the security bloc led by China and Russia.

“As the influence of the SCO’s development has expanded, more and more countries in the region have brought up [their case of] joining the SCO.... India and Pakistan’s admission to the SCO will play an important role in its development and will play a constructive role in pushing for the improvement of their bilateral relations,” the senior Chinese diplomat said.

PM leaves for Norway

Premier Nawaz left on Monday for a three-day official tour of Norway. The prime minister is visiting the Scandinavian country on the invitation of Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg to participate in the Oslo Summit on Education for Development scheduled for July 7. This would be the first official visit by a Pakistani leader to Norway in over a decade.

During this visit, PM Nawaz would address the education summit and interact with several world leaders. He would also hold talks with his Norwegian counterpart and meet Crown Prince Haakon Magnus.

Read: No breakthrough likely as uncertainty mars Pak-India ties

“Pakistan shares the vision of the Oslo summit that aims to mobilise strong and renewed political commitment to reach out to the 58 million children still being denied their right to education, and to improve the quality of education for those who go to school,” said Nawaz.

He said the Pakistani government was determined to improve the quality of education, enhance gender equality and provide increased learning opportunities for both male and female students in Pakistan.

“I strongly believe that education of the youth is the only way forward for socio-economic progress of our future generations, and that eradicating illiteracy is essential for promoting peace, tolerance and harmony in any society.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7^th, 2015.

COMMENTS (3)

abreez | 9 years ago | Reply India, Japan sign action plan to double investments in 5-years business-standard.com May 1, 2015 The governments of India and Japan signed an agreement on Thursday for doubling of Japanese investment into Indian firms in the next five years, and boosting two-way trade. The signatories were Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Japan’s minister for economy, trade and industry, Yoichi Miyazawa. The plan was categorised into five broad areas: development of selected townships in India, promotion of investment and infrastructure development, further development and cooperation in information technology, enhancing cooperation in strategic sectors and Asia-Pacific economic integration. Signing of the action plan is seen "as a step further in improving the trade relationship between India and Japan as a follow-up of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Japan last year," stated a release quoting Miyazawa.

abreez | 9 years ago | Reply Japan unveils massive $110 billion plan for Asia’s infrastructure to counter China timesofindia.indiatimes.com May 21, 2015 TOKYO: Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced on Thursday a $110 billion investment plan for infrastructure projects in Asia in an apparent counter to China's move to launch a new development bank. Abe said in a speech in Tokyo that Japan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will boost their assistance by 30 per cent to offer the massive investment aid under a five-year public-private partnership vision. "By attracting diverse funds, we hope to bring changes to Asia," Abe said in prepared remarks, in the latest twist in the tussle for influence in the fast-growing region. "In the long run, we'd like to spread quality infrastructure and innovative infrastructure in Asia," Abe said, according to Kyodo News. The sum is just slightly higher than the expected $100 billion capital of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) that Beijing and more than 50 founding member states are establishing. Japan and the United States were the biggest standouts earlier this year when Beijing began courting members for the AIIB. Washington led a high-profile, and ultimately unsuccessful, attempt to dissuade allies from taking part in the project, which critics say will not demand the same good-governance and environmental standards imposed by other international bodies, such as the ADB, a long-established body in which Tokyo plays a key role. However, supporters say fears over undue Chinese influence are overblown, and that the participation by more than 50 countries, including ones as diverse as Britain and Iran, will dilute Beijing's power. Few observers doubt there is a need for billions of dollars of investment in infrastructure in Asia. The region also offers rich opportunities for countries with strong infrastructure industries, like Japan. But political and other risks in doing business in Asia have discouraged some businesses from making long-term investments.

VIEW MORE COMMENTS

abreez | 9 years ago | Reply Vietnam Gets Fourth Submarine from Russia amid South China Sea Tensions thediplomat.com July 01, 2015 The fourth of six Kilo-class submarines Vietnam bought from Russia arrived on Tuesday amid continued tensions in the South China Sea, local media sources reported. According to Thanh Nien News, the submarine, codenamed HQ-185 Da Nang, arrived at Cam Ranh Port in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa on Tuesday morning transported by the Dutch-registered cargo ship Rolldock Storm. It was part of a deal Vietnam reached with Russia’s Admiralty Shipyards for six Project 636 Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines for $2 billion back in 2009. Under the agreement, signed during Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to Moscow, Russia agreed to provide the submarines, train Vietnamese crews and supply necessary spare parts. The HQ-185 was reportedly launched on March 28, 2014 at the Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg, Russia, and had a trial run on the Baltic Sea. It set sail for Vietnam in the middle of May this year.

Replying to X