Islamabad, 11 December 2023 (TDI): The Embassy of Kazakhstan in Pakistan organized a Round table on the topic “The Asian factor of multilateral cooperation in the global and regional agenda: current state and prospects”, dedicated to the priorities of Kazakhstan’s chairmanship in the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
The Chairman of the Defense Committee of the Senate of Pakistan, former Minister of Information and Broadcasting, and former Minister of Communication Mushahid Hussain Syed was invited to the event as a Chief Guest. The moderator was Bahria University Professor Dr. Hasan Daud Butt.
On behalf of the Kazakh side, the Round Table was attended by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, an expert in the military-political dimension of the CICA Doulat Kuanyshev, the National Coordinator for SCO activities from the Republic of Kazakhstan Murat Mukushev, analysts from the KazISS, FPRI, the Center for Trade and Economic strategies.
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The event was attended by senators, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, heads of the capital’s leading universities and think tanks, journalists from reputable media, and international relations students.
In his welcoming speech, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Pakistan, Yerzhan Kistafin, outlined the main milestones in the formation of CICA and the SCO, emphasized the common goals and objectives of the two organizations, and noted their growing role and relevance in the light of events taking place in the international arena.
Expressed his opinion on the need to further increase cooperation between Kazakhstan and Pakistan, incl. within the framework of the mentioned organizations to strengthen interaction in various fields, as well as jointly confront current challenges and threats.
In turn, Senator Mushahid Hussein Syed stated the importance of Kazakh-Pakistani cooperation, incl. within the framework of CICA and the SCO. He emphasized the relevance for Pakistan of the tasks and priorities identified by Kazakhstan as the presiding country in CICA and the SCO.
He shared his memories of the formation of relations between Kazakhstan and Pakistan, supporting the opinion about the need for their further expansion and diversification.
“CICA and the SCO have evolved into authoritative dialogue platforms and global forums aimed at expanding cooperation in the field of security and stability, enhancing trade and economic partnership, and productive interaction in environmental issues.
All of the above aspects of interaction fully meet the domestic and international agenda of Pakistan and serve as an incentive for the active participation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in regional structures,” Mushahid Hussein Sayed summed up his speech.
In general, the speakers and participants of the Round Table were solid in their opinions about the need to support Kazakh initiatives to promote dialogue in Asia and search for collective solutions to all existing threats and challenges.
The speakers highlighted such areas as counter-terrorism, extremism, climate change, and territorial conflicts. The importance of developing business ties to stimulate trade and economic cooperation between Asian countries was noted.
Ambassador Y. Kistafin expresses personal gratitude to Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed; Senator Senator Engr. Rukhsana Zuberi, Rector Bahria University Vice Admiral Asif Khaliq, Pro-Rector National University of Modern Languages Dr. Zubair Iqbal, Prof. Dr. Hassan Daud; Vice-Chancellor of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Dr. Nadeem Ul Haque; Director General of the Islamic Research Institute, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Zia Ul Haq; Director of the China-Pakistan Study Center of Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad, Dr. Talat Shabbir; President of the Institute of Regional Studies, Ambassador Nadeem Riyaz.
Moreover, the President of the Islamabad Policy Research Institute, Ambassador Dr. Raza Muhammad; Executive Director of Diplomatic Insight Group, Muhammad Asif Noor; Professor of the Area Study Center of the University of Peshawar, Dr. Shabir Ahmad Khan, President of the Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies, Dr. Farhat Asif; Director of the School of Politics and International Relations of Quaid-i-Azam University, Prof.Zafar Nawaz Jaspal; Executive Director of the Center for a Community with a Shared Future, Khalid Taimur Akram, President of the Center for Pakistan and International Relations, Amna Malik attended the round table.
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