President Asif Ali Zardari’s recent proposal at the platform of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to develop special mechanism for Pakistan in areas of energy, security and economic cooperation will pave way for the country to link up with energy-rich Central Asia.
Political analysts believe that Pakistan took full benefit of its participation at the SCO summit in Russian city Yekaterinburg as an observer for the first time, by asserting its involvement in key SCO sectors aimed at strengthening its economy.
A Foreign Office statement said that Pakistan enjoys an important status of possessing unique strategic depth geographically, which offers transit-route between Central Asian and South Asian countries.
“The interaction and cooperation with the SCO members would prove to be proven determinant to develop momentum of trade between Pakistan and members of SCO,” the statement said.
Independent political experts are of the view that interactive and cooperative outlook of SCO is a major symbolic drift from unipolar world order to a multiple system.
For Pakistan, the summit also provided an ample opportunity to develop cordial chemistry with other states as President Zardari held separate meetings with several heads of states and governments gathered at the SCO forum.
The much-awaited rendezvous between President Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of SCO summit, left a positive note that the foreign secretaries of both countries would meet soon for the revival of comprehensive dialogue.
The tri-lateral meeting between President Zardari, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the sidelines of summit, helped the three leaders find ways to resolve issues of terrorism.
The joint communiqu’ issued after the SCO moot resolved to establish the sound and rational system of inter-governmental relations and set up the priorities for future interaction among the SCO members.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization was founded in the backdrop of countering western influence in the energy-rich region, and comprises Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Pakistan, India, Iran and Mongolia joined in as observer nations while Afghanistan attended as a special guest.