ISLAMABAD, Nov 11: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Friday that Pakistan in its capacity as current chairman of Saarc had made sincere efforts to make the grouping more effective for the promotion of bilateral relations in the region and to fight poverty.

Talking to newsmen at the Chaklala air base before leaving for Dhaka to attend the 13th Saarc Summit, the prime minister said the summit would provide an opportunity for the leaders to meet collectively and bilaterally to promote relations and proceed further for economic cooperation.

Aside from promoting peace, there is need to resolve bilateral issues in the region so that the resources and energies of Saarc members could be utilized for development in their areas, he said.

There is need to resolve disputes among Saarc members which are creating hurdles in the way of peace, he said, adding that he would highlight the concerns and challenges being faced by the Kashmiris to Saarc leaders during his one-to-one meetings with them.

He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to further strengthening Saarc in its third decade.

He called for strengthening the organization and making it “action-oriented”.

He said Pakistan considered Saarc as a platform for economic cooperation, political coordination and helping each other in the social sector.

He said there should be more interaction among various sectors and societies of Saarc countries.

The prime minister said he would hold bilateral meetings with all the leaders attending the summit and convey a message of “peace” during these exchanges.

He said bilateral disputes should be resolved and member nations should focus on fighting poverty, improving the social sector and standard of living. Then everybody will benefit from this progress.—APP