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BALI, May 12: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Friday called for more cooperation among the D-8 (Developing Eight) countries in the economic, diplomatic and defence fields to realise full potential of the grouping.
“We are believers in the D-8 as it brings together eight of the most populous countries in the Muslim Ummah,” he said while talking to the media upon his arrival in Indonesia’s resort island of Bali to attend the D-8 summit starting on Saturday. However, he pointed out, D-8 had not reached its true potential and much more could be done to make it an effective organisation for promoting cooperation among the member countries.
“We have to enhance economic cooperation (and) raise living standard of our people. We have to project Islam in its true sense...we have to fight terrorism.”
Noting increase in trade among the D-8 countries, he expressed the hope that the signing of an agreement on preferential trade arrangements would open more doors for cooperation and free flow of trade and investment.
“We need to build bridges between the D-8 countries and that will create a win-win situation for all,” he said.
Mr Aziz said that the view of Islam in the world was not fully understood or represented. He called for more unity in the Ummah to face the challenges. On Islamabad-Jakarta relations, the premier said he would hold talks with the Indonesian president to increase cooperation in bilateral trade, investment, defence, tourism, agriculture, energy sector, anti-terror fight and on the OIC matters.
He described the Iran’s nuclear crisis as a ‘very complex’ issue. However, he said, Iran should be allowed to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes under IAEA safeguards, monitoring and guidelines.
He said Iran should not produce nuclear weapons and should not proliferate in any form.
Pakistan, he said, was opposed to use of force to resolve the Iranian crisis.
MEETING WITH BADAWI: The prime minister met his Malaysian counterpart Abdullah Ahmed Badawi to exchange views on bilateral and regional issues and agreed to expedite ongoing negotiations for an early signing of the Free Trade Agreement.
“We hope to finalise the FTA during the next couple of months,” he said at a joint press talk with Mr Badawi.
The Malaysian leader accepted an invitation by Mr Aziz to visit Pakistan. Mr Aziz said they had discussed matters relating to the OOIC.
Later, Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri said that the two leaders decided to adopt coordinated policies to make D-8 an effective body.
BD FOREIGN MINISTER: Later, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Morshed Khan called on Prime Minister Aziz and discussed with him bilateral and regional issues, including Saarc and the Free Trade Agreement.
The meeting also discussed various activities under the Saarc. Bangladesh holds the current chair of the grouping.
Mr Morshed Khan said the Saarc member countries were mulling creation of a body on the line of Interpol to strengthen their cooperation in the anti-terror war.—APP
