BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, September 1. Pakistan will focus on information technology and AI, energy, development and poverty reduction, disaster management, healthcare, culture and sports during its chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Trend’s special correspondent reports.

Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif announced this while addressing the SCO Plus meeting in Bishkek. “We will be guided by the conviction that the SCO must deliver tangible results for its peoples over the next year. We will prioritize IT and artificial intelligence, energy, development and poverty reduction, disaster management, healthcare, culture and sports,” Sharif said.

He noted the growing interest in the SCO, which, according to him, demonstrates the organization’s influence and importance as a key regional forum. Addressing the international situation, the Prime Minister of Pakistan said the world is going through a period of unprecedented turbulence and transformation. According to him, Pakistan views the emergence of a multipolar world as an opportunity to build a fairer, democratic and equitable international system.

Sharif also called for reform of the United Nations. “Today, the UN is in urgent need of reform. It must become more accountable and more responsive,” he said.

Addressing the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the Prime Minister of Pakistan called on the international community to take decisive action to end the suffering of the Palestinian people and ensure their inalienable right to self-determination. Sharif also addressed water resources, stressing their strategic importance for the region. “Water is the source of life for our region, sustaining millions of lives, nourishing our lands and securing the future of our future generations. It must never be used as a weapon or an instrument of political pressure,” he said.

The Prime Minister of Pakistan also described terrorism as a common threat to the SCO member states and other countries represented in the SCO Plus format. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to jointly combating terrorism, separatism and religious extremism within the framework of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure. “Pakistan will continue to courageously confront terrorism and will defeat this scourge. More than 90,000 lives and $150 billion in economic losses — this is the price our country has paid in the fight against terrorism not only for itself, but for the whole world,” Sharif said.

According to him, terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including state terrorism, must be condemned clearly and unequivocally. Sharif also stated that terrorist groups using Afghan territory to launch attacks against Pakistan and other neighboring countries must be effectively stopped.

In conclusion, the Prime Minister of Pakistan reaffirmed the country’s commitment to realizing the potential of the SCO and called on the organization’s member states and partners to support these efforts. He also invited participants of the SCO Plus meeting to Islamabad for the next meeting in this format in 2027.

Source: www.trend.az