ECO's way forward

Attaining proactivity in regional cooperation is becoming a sine qua non as distractions continue to haunt geopolitics. The 17th ECO Summit in Azerbaijan's city of Khankendi took a leap forward as it called for buoying understanding among the member states to overcome bilateral frictions and ensure that geo-economics takes roots.

Pakistan flagged the Iran-Israel war, the adamant attitude of India, especially the IWT's unilateral suspension, and the backlash of terrorism from Afghanistan as obstacles hampering regional serenity and development. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif underscored that the 10-nation Eurasian bloc offers the 'best hope' for a unified response, and there should not be any looking back.

Pakistan also underlined the necessity of quality development in relevance with climate change considerations. It also proposed developing low-emission corridors, ECO-wide carbon market platforms and a regional disaster resistance system.

It's high time the cobweb of railways, roads and waterways, which have successfully been laid down across the region, came to benefit the common man in terms of employment, cheap products and a semblance of growth. So is the case with energy channels that are still in limbo, like the IP gas pipeline, TAPI, CASA-1000 and the trans-Afghan railway connectivity.

The point that some of the states are mulling a 'military alliance' in the region has been promptly negated by Pakistan, as it hopes India will give up its confrontational policy and make SAARC a viable entity.

Peace between Pakistan and India is indispensable if regional cooperation is to materialise. The potential could be gauged from the fact that according to SBP, imports from India totalled $211.5 million in the first 11 months of FY25; and in May alone when the conflict broke out, imports stood at $15 million.

The India-based Global Trade Research Initiative has also reported recently that India's unofficial exports to Pakistan are estimated at $10 billion annually, routed primarily through Dubai, Colombo and Singapore. The need is to get it straight for the collective good of the region.