"Pakistan aims to provide trade route to Central Asia"

President Asif Ali Zardari said that Pakistan wants to build roads into Central Asia for better trade.

He made these comments addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tashkent on Friday.

The president said Pakistan, owing to its strategic position provides shortest and fastest trade corridors to link the Central Asian Republics to the rest of the world.

He said that increased trade and commercial activities in the region could bring about a positive change in the lives of the people of the region. He further called for greater regional cooperation against extremism and vowed that Pakistan would continue to play its key role in this regard.

President Zardari also extended full support to Afghanistan, saying that a strong and stable Afghanistan is in the best interest of the entire region.