Picture : Twitter/ ANI
Calling SCO a platform of mutual understanding and security, Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday said that the potential of peace can be unlocked when great powers play the role of peacemakers, as he addressed the SCO-Council of Foreign Ministers meet in Goa.
In his keynote address at SCO Foreign Ministers’ meeting, Zardari urged to collectively eradicate the menace of terrorism. “Let’s not get caught up in weaponising terrorism for diplomatic point scoring,” he said.
This comes after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar talked about cross-border terrorism in his opening address at the SCO meet and underlined how it continues “unabated”. He added by saying that it must be stopped in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism.
Zardari is here to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) and incidentally, the first Pakistani foreign minister to visit India in almost 12 years.
Reiterating Pakistan’s commitment to multilateralism, Bilawal further added “Unilateral and illegal measures by States in violation of international law and Security Council resolutions run counter to the SCO objectives.”
In his address, Zardari highlighted SCO’s role as an intergovernmental organization. He said, “SCO has emerged as a platform for promoting mutual understanding, security and development through constructive and mutually beneficial cooperation.”
He also urged for collective action and stated that the collective security of our people is our joint responsibility during his address in Goa.
Zardari reiterated Pakistan’s strong commitment to SCO. “There couldn’t be a more powerful indication of the importance that Pakistan attaches to the SCO than my presence here in Goa for this CFM,” the Pakistan Foreign Minister said on his arrival in India.
