News
Monday, September 23, 2013
Talks best option to resolve conflicts in region: Pakistan* Abbasi tells international forum Pakistan wants to live in peace with its neighbours
* Advocates role of parliaments in resolution of disputes
By Farooq Awan
KUNMING: Pakistan on Sunday reiterated its commitment to live in peace with its neighbours and resolve all the disputes and conflicts through negotiations.
“Peaceful resolution of conflicts and disputes among all neighbouring countries will bring peace to the whole region,” National Assembly Deputy Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi told a high-level dialogue on “Converging Wisdom and Consensus: Promoting the New Development of China-South Asia Relationship” at the Yunnan Haigeng Convention Centre in Kunming city.
Pakistan’s representative at the conference advocated the role of parliaments to avoid conflicts and promote peace in the region. “Avoiding conflicts was imperative for peace and parliaments of the regional countries can play an important role in the regard,” he told participants from the SAARC countries.
Abbasi said Pakistan had offered enormous sacrifices for the cause of peace and development in the region. He said his country was committed to promoting peace and an economic agenda in the region for the shared prosperity.
Abbasi hailed positive role played by China in establishment of peace and stability in the region and expressed hope that with active support of Beijing, South Asia would become a peaceful and better place to live in.
Former foreign minister and former deputy prime minister of Nepal Ramesh Naath Pandey stressed the need to strengthen bilateral cooperation among SAARC countries.
“South Asian countries and China will gain more economic prosperity if there are deep exchanges in the field of education, tourism, energy, investment, trade, climate change and disaster management,” he told the session.
Speaker of the Lower House of Afghanistan, Abdur Raouf Ibrahimi, former speaker of Sri Lanka parliament and governor of the Sabaragamuwa province WJM Lokubandara, former minister and special representative of the vice-president of Maldives, Salah Shihab, councilor of the Department of Asian Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in China, Wang Yu, speaker of Bangladesh parliament, Shirin Sharmin Chaudhry, deputy speaker of Pyidaungsu Hlutta and Pyithu Hluttaw, U Nanda Kyaw Swar, general secretary of the CPC, Yunnan Provincial Party Committee, Qiu He, and councilor of the Department of Asian Affairs at the Ministry of Commerce in China, Wang Liping, also spoke and presented several proposals for enhancing cooperation in the South Asian region.
The dialogue was followed by two parallel sub-forums on “Peace Building Process in Afghanistan: The New Starting Point for Reconciliation and Cooperation of Countries in the Region” and “Opportunities and Challenges: Heritage and Innovative Development of the China-South Asia Relationship”. Former foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri and senator Mushahid Hussain spoke from Pakistan.
The discussions were followed by a work luncheon hosted by Yunnan provincial government in honour of the delegates. The closing ceremony was held in the evening at the Intercontinental Hotel in Kunming city. A musical gala was held where Chinese singers and dancers dressed in their traditional costumes presented the mesmerizing performances.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk