Speakers moot: Daesh a serious threat

ISLAMABAD: The six-nation Speakers’ conference maintained that Daesh is a serious threat to the world peace and demanded that Kashmir and Al-Quds issues be resolved as per the international law.

The six-nation Speakers Conference on Sunday adopted a 29-point Islamabad Declaration of partnership for regional peace, development and connectivity.

The moot, convened on the initiative of National Assembly of Pakistan Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, was attended by the speakers of Wolesi Jirga of Afghanistan Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Ismail Kahraman, Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran Dr Ali Ardeshir Larijani, National Assembly of China, Russian Federal Duma with their respective parliamentary delegations.

They discussed the significance of peace, development and connectivity among the conference participating states and held in-depth and useful discussions to explore ways for forging a partnership in these mutually reinforcing areas.

The conference recognised that peace was a prerequisite for achieving development and promoting connectivity among the countries and respective regions, agreeing on the need for more engagement and dialogue among parliaments, government and the people.

The speaker also deliberated on the diversity and interconnectedness of challenges and opportunities at the regional and global levels, besides discussing the transformation of the world into a pluralistic multi-polar world where Asia was leading the march towards globalisation through inclusive cooperation with the rejection of hegemonic approach or use of force, promoting equality of opportunities for all nations and peoples. They exchanged views on entire spectrum of bilateral, regional and international issues in a warm, cordial and friendly manner.

The Speakers of the international conference acknowledged the shared bonds of history, culture and values between the peoples of the participating countries, reiterating common resolve to comprehensively widen the relations across all security, economy and trade.

They noted with concern the increasing links between drug trafficking and other forms of transnational organised crimes and terrorism. The moot desired to maintain the momentum of high level exchanges and consultations, providing impetus for deepening of ties among the countries.

The speakers stressed that cooperation among the states contributed to the strengthening of peace, prosperity and stability for the peoples living in the region, expressing satisfaction on multilateral cordial and close cooperation at regional and multilateral fora.

They agreed to further strengthen collaboration within the framework of the United Nations, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and other regional and international organisation, reaffirming the sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and unity among the conference participating states.

The conference endorsed that connectivity was a key priority area of cooperation, together with other agreed priority areas, besides it recognised that enhancing intra-regional connectivity would benefit all participating countries through enhanced trade, investment, infrastructure, tourism, people-to-people linkages and cultural exchanges.

It reaffirmed support for the effective and timely implementation of all the regional connectivity initiatives including infrastructure development, institutional linkages and people-to-people connectivity.

The speakers said they would ensure support and facilitation to further relevant cooperation among the participant countries in mobilising resources and expertise, information sharing and identifying specific cooperation projects for improving connectivity.

“We will promote greater awareness within the public and private sectors on the benefits of connectivity, including its potential economic opportunities, through the conduct of outreach and advocacy activities such as symposiums, workshops, seminars, business missions and courses,” they said.