It is a historic day today, says PM as Pakistan joins SCO

ASTANA: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said it is a historic day today as Pakistan becomes a permanent member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. 

Addressing the SCO's heads of council meeting on Friday, he said "I am thankful to member countries for giving Pakistan permanent membership to the body." 

“Pakistan is determined to implement the SCO charter,” he assured the participants. 

“We [Pakistan] realise that we have a lot to learn from the wisdom of the founding members as we orient our foreign policy in a changing international environment,“ said Sharif. 

“With SCO members, we share deep historical and cultural ties, as well as strong economic and strategic linkages. SCO’s goals resonate with Pakistan’s national ethos and so do the core values of the Shanghai spirit and SCO’s charter with our own pressed for a peaceful neighbourhood.”

He said, “In this context, I welcome the proposal on the need of good neighbourliness for the next five years among SCO members.”

“As leaders, we should leave a legacy of peace for our future generations not a toxic harvest of conflict and animosity. Instead of talking about counterweight and containment, let us create shared spaces for all. I also congratulate India for joining the SCO family.”

Today, SCO has truly become transnational in coming decades it will serve as a strong link between Asia Pacific, East Asia, West Asia and the Atlantic region, he remarked.   

"SCO is destined to become a cornerstone of global politics and economics. The SCO gives us a powerful platform for partnerships to promote peace, build trust, and spur economic development for shared prosperity."

He further said, "Moreover, it helps us all combat terrorism, reduce arms race, eliminate poverty, fight epidemics, deal with natural disasters, tackle climate change and ensure water security."

"We fully accept the resolve of SCO to fight the twin evil of terrorism and extremism. Pakistan fought its own war against terrorism and violent extremism and with the grace of God we have been able to turn around security and economic situation in our country." 

“We attend the conference with the confidence that we would be able to change the world for the better,” he said, adding that Pakistan is diligently implementing the China Pakistan Economic corridor, which will also benefit the SCO members. 

At the end of the summit, the member countries signed the charter whereby Pakistan and India were granted permanent membership status. 

Prior to the summit, the premier breifly exchanged pleasantries with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi while entering the venue. 

The SCO summit is being held in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. 

With the inclusion of Pakistan and India, the SCO now has a total of eight states as permanent members — after China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Other observer states and governments and international organisations are also part of the group.

The group will then represent nearly half of the world’s population after the inclusion of the subcontinental neighbours.