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PR. No.206/2008
Date: 09/07/2008
STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER OF PAKISTAN SYED YOUSUF RAZA GILANI AT THE SIXTH D-8 SUMMIT ,
KUALA LUMPUR , MALAYSIA
8th JULY 2008
His Excellency Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Prime Minister of Malaysia , Honourable Heads of Delegation,
Dr. Dipo Alam, Secretary General D-8,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is an honour for me to address this eminent and distinguished gathering. I wish to congratulate you, Mr. Prime Minister, on assuming the Chairmanship of the Developing-8. We are confident that under your able and dynamic leadership, this organization will make further progress in achieving our common objective of development cooperation.
We are thankful to the people and the Government of Malaysia for the warm welcome and gracious hospitality extended to us since our arrival in this beautiful city.
I avail myself of this opportunity to express my deep appreciation to Indonesia for providing excellent leadership to this organization over the last two years.
Our Secretary General H. E. Dr. Dipo Alam deserves our commendation for his strenuous efforts in promoting the objectives of the organization.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The sapling of the D-8 planted eleven years ago in Ankara , is growing steadily. Our vision in 1997, under the leadership of Turkey , was to make collective efforts for development cooperation among us. Though we are spread over in three continents, we have the bonds of affinity through close friendship.
Today, as we gather in this beautiful city of Kuala Lumpur , we renew our collective pledge and determination to build a better, peaceful and prosperous future for our people. Ours is an organization with a global reach, with abundant natural resources, and youthful population.
We are happy to see progress in promoting economic cooperation by promoting trade among D-8 countries. The signing of Agreements on Preferential Trade Agreement, Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters, and Simplification of Visa Procedures for Businessmen of Member States, are commendable steps in the right direction. Early implementation of these agreements will give impetus to promotion of intra D-8 trade, which is at present only US$ 60.5 billion.
Today, as we enter into the second decade of D-8, it is important to review our achievements and lay down a clear roadmap for adding value to our endeavours. Let me share my views in this regard.
In the last 11 years, the D-8 has made steady progress. However, the progress achieved so far does not reflect the true potential of D-8 countries. We need to look into the challenges before us, analyze them and convert them into opportunities to the advantage and betterment of our people.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Pakistan is committed to the success of D-8. Pakistan 's trade with D-8 countries accounts for 8.14 percent of its overall trade, which is the highest as compared to the trade of other D-8 States with members of the organization. We need to do more to enhance economic opportunities that exist amongst us.
The D-8 can become a model of progress, development, cooperation and partnership. This organization has a great promise with more than 930 million people and vast natural resources. We need to build knowledge-based societies, promoting human resource development, skill development, education and research, and learning from each other's experiences and good practices. We need to promote greater connectivity, people-to-people contacts, networking and linkages exploiting the opportunities rendered by the Information Age.
We have the D-8 Roadmap for Economic Cooperation in the Second Decade of Cooperation among Member States. This is a useful document containing a blue print of D-8 cooperation in diverse fields. I would like to suggest that we should prioritize areas of cooperation and focus on some selected projects with timelines and verifiable indicators for effective monitoring and evaluation. Our first and foremost priority should be the promotion of intra D-8 trade. We hope all of us will soon implement the three agreements that we have signed for facilitation of trade promotion.
Pakistan would like the D-8 to rapidly grow and become a vibrant and effective organization. In order to achieve success and move forward, we need to provide the requisite human and financial resources to the D-8 Secretariat. We support the endeavours of the Secretary General in strengthening of the Secretariat that is commensurate with its mandate.
We welcome the association of private sector with the D-8, which will enrich our cooperation in various fields. The holding of Business Forum on the sidelines of this Summit to deliberate on issues like biotechnology, halal industry, and renewable energy, is commendable. This offers an occasion for the private sector and businessmen from D-8 countries to interact with each other and explore ways and means to further enhance intra D-8 trade.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The top most priority of my Government, which is democratically elected and enjoys overwhelming mandate of the people, is economic development for poverty alleviation in Pakistan . This overarching objective determines our economic reform process. Today we have a liberalized market oriented economy with abundant opportunities for businessmen and investors. We have established special economic zones with special incentives for foreign companies to invest in Pakistan .
Pakistan is strategically located at the confluence of South Asia , Central Asia and South-West Asia, with immense human and natural capital. It can serve as an energy, trade and communication corridor for the entire region. The wealth of our human and material resources is available to our brothers in the D-8 for enhancing mutually beneficial cooperation and integration of our fast growing economies.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The world is facing today the menace of extremism and terrorism, which has affected our socio-economic development. Pakistan has suffered the most due to this scourge. Our great leader former Prime Minister Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was martyred by terrorists. However, such cowardly acts will never dampen our firm resolve to fight terrorism and extremism with iron fist. We are following a multi-pronged approach in dealing with extremism that combines use of political, economic, administrative, and military measures.
Peace and stability are indispensable for socio-economic progress. We have made positive progress in recent years in our dialogue with India . We are seeking peaceful resolution of all our outstanding issues, including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. Pakistan is committed to peace and stability in our region. However, we are of the view that there is a need to move from conflict management to conflict resolution to achieve durable peace and security in South Asia .
Mr. Chairman,
On behalf of the Government and the people of Pakistan , I avail myself of this opportunity to assure your government and the people of Malaysia of our full cooperation in our collective efforts within D-8 to achieve tangible results in socio-economic development of our people.
Thank you.
Islamabad
09 July 2008
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