ISTANBUL – President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday said Pakistan was well positioned to provide trade and communication corridors through its territory and ports to its friends and partners.
“We are ready to provide energy as a bridge and develop win-win scenarios,” the president said while addressing the 11th summit of ECO (Economic Coordination Organisation) on Thursday. He said the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline and TAPI gas pipeline projects should be seen in that context.
Zardari described development as a strategic priority and urged ECO member states that infrastructure and energy connectivity in the region should be one of the key goals. He said trade was possible only if there were infrastructural linkages and integrated border arrangements for trade facilitation, adding that one of the major achievements of ECO was the enforcement of the Transit Transport Framework Agreement.
The President said the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul train service and ECO Truck Caravan were commendable successes. “Pakistan remains deeply committed to the aims and objectives of ECO. ECO brings us together to renew our partnership for comprehensive regional development and prosperity. Our region is blessed with enormous resources and we have vast human capital. We have huge natural resources, including hydro-carbons, minerals, agriculture and technology,” Zardari said.
He said ECO represented the best hope to promote trade and economic linkages in the region and urged member countries to pool resources to harness their potential.
