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Addressing the meeting hosted virtually by India on Tuesday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif denounced the colossal head monster of terrorism and extremism. (Reuters/file)
According to experts, Pakistan – pulled back from the brink of default due to a new $3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund last week – wants to trade with India and also wants to portray itself as a “responsible country” ahead of Russia and China.
The 23rd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization comes at an opportune time for cash-strapped Pakistan. The country is in dire need of good relations with neighboring countries and regional powers such as China and Russia.
Addressing the meeting hosted virtually by India on Tuesday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif denounced the “hydra-headed monster” of terrorism and extremism, and highlighted the importance of communication by saying it has become a defining feature of the modern world. Economy.
According to experts, Pakistan – which was pushed back from default by a new $3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund last week – wants trade and peace with India because only New Delhi can provide it with cheaper commodities, food and raw materials. Devastated by floods and debt traps, Islamabad is seeking to portray itself as a “responsible nation” to the world at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization forum.
The SCO was established at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan became permanent members in 2017. India assumed the rotating chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization at the Samarkand Summit on September 16 last year.
In Tuesday’s meeting, Sharif also spoke about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which he said could be a “change agent” for connectivity and prosperity in the region.
“Pakistan’s location serves as a natural bridge connecting Europe and Central Asia with China, South Asia and the Middle East,” he said, adding that SEZs under the economic corridor can also serve as convenient channels to boost regional trade.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which connects the port of Gwadar in Pakistan’s Baluchistan with China’s Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of China’s ambitious multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road initiative. India protested to China about the Pakistan Economic Corridor because it is being extended through Pakistani-occupied Kashmir.
He also referred to last year’s floods that hit Pakistan and caused losses of more than $30 billion to its economy, and urged developed countries to help the poor to mitigate the effects of climate change.
The heavily indebted country will become the fourth largest borrower from the International Monetary Fund in the world after receiving a new $3 billion loan in the next nine months under the standby arrangement reached with the global lender. The deal, which still needs IMF board approval, comes after an eight-month delay.
Pakistan is facing an acute balance of payments crisis due to the repercussions of the war in Ukraine and domestic challenges.
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