ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China, while participating in 53rd Munich Security Conference, reiterated their common position on counter-terrorism, asserting that the West should take a nonpartisan approach to combating it, in order to ensure peace and development worldwide.
Defence minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said the West’s policies to stay aloof do not support the war against terror. “Such policies will only give rise to terrorism,” he said.
It is shocking that more than ninety percent of individuals killed by terrorists are Muslims. He briefed the conference’s participants about the sacrifices rendered by the people of Pakistan in rooting out terrorism. There should be no double standard in tackling the issues of common concern, he added.
READ MORE: Khawaja Asif criticises West’s policies on war against terror
The conference was participating by top officials of various countries, including China, Norway, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Iran.
In his keynote address at a plenary session of the Munich Security Conference, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on called on participating countries to adhere to cooperation and make right decisions for achieving the common goal of peace and development worldwide. Terrorism, he added is a threat that needed to be tackled in a collective way.
Wang said that in two major speeches delivered in Switzerland last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for building a community of shared future for all and achieving shared and win-win development.
Peace and development are still the main themes of today’s world, Wang said.
“We need to remain committed to multilateralism, which is the effective pathway to peace, development and the settlement of global issues,” he said.
Multilateralism is not out of date, but should be carried forward, Wang said. And cooperation among big countries needs to be strengthened.
“Big countries have more resources and more capabilities. They have the responsibility and the obligation to play a greater role in maintaining international peace and security and make more contributions to human development and progress,” he said.
Wang said that global governance should be improved so as to solve the imbalances in world development and realise the sustainable growth of the world economy.
“China is actively participating in global governance,” he told an audience of over 300 people.
Wang added that the world needs to firmly advance all types of regional cooperation as this has proved effective for promoting global development.
Founded in 1963, the annual MSC has become a forum dedicated to promoting peaceful conflict resolution and international cooperation and dialogue. China first attended a conference in 1999.