KAZAKHSTAN: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met different world leaders on sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana.

He held meetings with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov, and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko. They exchanged views on bilateral relations and matters of mutual interest. All heads of member states of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, including PM Shehbaz Sharif, signed outcome document after SCO summit in Astana. Meanwhile addressing Summit, PM Shehbaz said that said SCO, with its enormous human and socio-economic potential, represents promising future. As leaders, he said it is their responsibility to rise above partisan geopolitics and join hands to secure peaceful and prosperous future for our people. He pointed out that Pakistan’s location makes it an ideal trade conduit for entire region.

CPEC, flagship project of Belt and Road initiative, supplements SCO’s vision for regional connectivity and economic interaction. Prime Minister emphasised need for promoting use of national currencies for mutual settlement within SCO region saying this can help avoid international financial shocks. He said Pakistan supports proposal to create an SCO alternative development funding mechanism to give needed impetus to various stalled development initiatives. Welcoming SCO agreement on environment protection, he said Pakistan remains committed to working for sustainable and nature-positive world. He stressed need for peace and stability in Afghanistan. He said international community must engage meaningfully with interim Afghan government to help them in their genuine economic and development needs. He said interim Afghan government must take concrete and effectives measures to ensure its soil is not used for terrorism by any entity against other states.