Gilani calls for taking all parties on board in solving Afghanistan

Presents five-point plan for inter & intra-region trade, infrastructure development with SCO a sponsor.

ST PETERSBURG: Terming greater cooperation among regional countries crucial for development and prosperity, Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani on Monday laid out his five-point development plan for the region stressing upon enhanced trade, energy and road links while calling for an inclusive solution to Afghanistan.

Addressing the 10th meeting of Heads of Government Council of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held in Russia’s historical city, the Prime Minister proposed a five-point development plan based on the SCO-sponsored intra-regional and inter-regional cooperation in trade, building infrastructure and power links.

The development plan includes arranging finance and initiation of work on electricity transmission lines; taking concrete measures to start TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) and Iran-Pakistan-India gas line projects; setting up a preferential and if possible a free trade zones in the SCO region; cooperation in the financial and banking sectors; and relaxation of visa regimes for diplomats, officials and businessmen.

Prime Minister Gilani represented Pakistan as an observer state at the SCO forum, and was joined by the leaders of SCO member states, including Russia, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, at the Constantine Palace.

Gilani said Pakistan attached great importance to the SCO and believed that this organisation had the capacity and resolve to overcome the most pressing challenges of the times. He added that the SCO had the enormous potential to promote regional economic cooperation in a holistic manner.

He mentioned that terrorism, extremism, drugs and syndicate crime were confronting the societies, states and the region. He said pervasive global economic and financial crisis, unemployment and socio-economic stress were making the picture bleak.

Gilani termed security and development as important regional issues. He said the challenges of reconciliation, reconstruction and revival of Afghan polity needed to be addressed objectively. He welcomed the SCO’s role and efforts in this regard.

He said Pakistan was optimistic that the problems in Afghanistan could be solved with the support of international community and by taking all Afghans on board, regardless of ideological, ethnic or political preferences.

He said though daunting, these challenges could be surmounted by developing a cohesive response based on clarity and firm conviction for working together.

He said political realism and clarity demanded that Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity was respected by all, and added that Pakistan would continue to contribute to the stability of Afghanistan and support its government and people in their endeavours for reconciliation and reconstruction.

Gilani stressed greater political will and concrete steps to fully realize the vision of SCO.

Russian Premier Vladimir Putin announced financing of 0.5 billion US dollars for the CASA-1000 that would ensure power transmission from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Pakistan and Afghanistan. He also called for investment flows to develop national economies.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao highlighted the SCO’s role in eliminating terrorism, extremism and separatism and said the organization needed to withstand the changes in international scenario. He supported Pakistan’s proposal of building cross-border road links.

He suggested policy support for free flow of goods, establishment of a seed bank for cooperation on agriculture and expansion in currency swap.

Kyrgyz Deputy Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov suggested for setting up SCO Development Bank and Business Council of SCO to address challenges of global economy.