Gwadar to serve as gateway for Central Asian States to the world: CM Balochistan
Gwadar to serve as gateway for Central Asian States to the world: CM Balochistan
Haseeb ur Rehman
BalochistanLatest

QUETTA: Chief Minister Balochistan, Jam Kamal Khan has said that Gwadar Port in Balochistan could serve as gateway for the landlocked Central Asian countries in providing them access to the maritime routes and serves as a trade corridor to the rest of the world. “Pakistan and China are already working together to uplift the Gwadar Port in order to facilitate connectivity, trade and investment in the region and beyond,” he added.

Chief Minister Balochistan was addressing the meeting of the Heads of the Regions Forum of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) states, in Chelyabinsk Russia on Wednesday.

SCO comprises of 8 member States, Pakistan, China, Russia, India, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kygyzstan along with four observer states. SCO’s major objectives include strengthening mutual confidence and good-neighborly relations, promoting effective cooperation in politics, trade and economy, science and technology, culture, education, energy, transportation, tourism and environmental protection.

Prime Minister nominated Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan to represent Balochistan in the forum while Provincial Minister Punjab Mian Mohammad Aslam Iqbal, Special Assistant to Chief Minister KPK Kamran Khan Bangash and Aamir Shouket director SCO were also accompanied Pakistani delegation.

Chief Minister Balochistan said that in the integrated world, the regional organization like SCO has greater role to play for coordinating actions and polices for ensuring security, peace and development. “We are highly appreciative of the Russian Federation and Chelyabinsk Region for bringing us together at this platform,” he said, adding that we would specially thank Mr. Dubrovsky, Governor of Chelyabinsk region, for taking this initiative to host first meeting of the forum.

He said that Pakistan regards SCO as an extremely important organization as it would allow us to promote regional connectivity and reflect our interest in regional peace, stability and development. He said that SCO was a unique organization which offered a new model for inter-state cooperation for peace, security, connectivity and sustainable development.

Jam Kamal said: “The guiding principles of Shanghai Spirit like mutual trust, equality, shared development and respect for cultural diversity make SCO a new paradigm of global and regional cooperation”.

Representing Balochistan, Chief Minister Jamal Kamal said that Balochistan was Pakistan’s largest province in terms of area with the smallest population while Balochistan was rich in natural resources and offers tremendous opportunities for investments. “Invite you all to come and visit us or send your investors to explore possibilities for mutual cooperation. My government stands ready to extend all possible facilities,” he maintained. He said they would look forward to explore possibilities of cultural cooperation with other regions of the SCO member states.

It may be recalled here that at the SCO Summit in Qindao China in June 2018 it was decided to establish a forum of SCO Regions (Provinces) to promote humanitarian, cultural trade and economic cooperation with the framework of the SCO.