FM, SG SCO discuss matters of mutual interest.

ISLAMABAD -- Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) ambassador Zhang Ming called on Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari at the Foreign Office on Friday and discussed matters of mutual interest.

The foreign minister warmly welcomed the secretary general and his delegation to Pakistan and congratulated him on his appointment to this important post, at the helm of the SCO Secretariat.

The foreign minister reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to the purposes and principles of the SCO Charter and the 'Shanghai spirit.'

He assured the Secretary General of Pakistan's active support in taking forward SCO's development cooperation agenda.

The foreign minister highlighted the enormous potential of the SCO region and stated that it was a collective responsibility to work together in harnessing this potential effectively for the sustained progress and prosperity of the SCO region as a whole.

While discussing the comprehensive and diverse socio-economic cooperation matrix of SCO, the foreign minister underlined Pakistan's interest in key priority areas of connectivity and transport; food security; innovation and technology exchange, trade and economy, including e-commerce; start-ups and digital literacy; youth empowerment etc.

He also highlighted Pakistan's potential as a trans-shipment and trade hub for SCO countries and reiterated Pakistan's keenness to play an active and constructive role in further strengthening SCO.

Views were also exchanged on the modernization of working mechanisms of SCO as well as the further expansion of the organization, which was a testimony to its growing stature as a major multilateral platform.

The foreign minister reassured the secretary general that Pakistan would be supportive of the reform process.

Sharing his perspective on the situation in Afghanistan, he underscored the need to...

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