Honourable Speakers of Asian
and European Parliaments;
Honourable Parliamentarians;
Excellencies;
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen!
A very Good Afternoon
to you all!
It is a privilege for me to address this
esteemed gathering of Honourable Speakers and representatives of the Parliaments
spanning across two continents.
As head of the delegation from the Senate of
Pakistan, I extend our appreciation to the Russian Federation, Republic of Korea
for taking this initiative to bring the Parliaments of Eurasian Countries
together and special thanks to Grand National Assembly of Turkey for hosting
this third Conference. Here I take this opportunity to express my deep
appreciation on the warm hospitality that has been extended to my delegation.
Ladies and Gentlemen!
The Turkish Grand National
Assembly (TGNA) is not only a symbol of the democratic traditions of Turkey,
but nearly two years ago, also demonstrated to the entire world the
transformative role that Parliaments can play in ensuring political stability
and social transformation.
The presence of such a large
number of Parliamentary delegations here today, from across the Eurasian
region, is not only a testimony to the increasing role of Parliamentary
diplomacy towards achieving peace and prosperity in global politics, but also
shows the ever-growing importance of the Meeting of Speakers of Eurasian
Countries’ Parliaments (MSEAP).
Together, we all represent over 4 billion
people from Asia and Europe. Thus it highlights the immense potential this
forum carries to achieve cooperation for the prosperity of our people.
Ladies and Gentlemen!
Keeping in view the potential of this forum, it
may be converted into a POWER HOUSE to make decisions which can be implemented
by the respective Parliaments of Eurasian Countries in order to bring the desired
CHANGE.
At this platform, we represent diverse mix of
races, ethnicity, and religion. It gives us all the opportunity to end all
forms of discrimination against each other. Unless we do so, we cannot expect
to achieve our core goals of ensuring social justice, peace, and sovereignty of
Parliament.
Our geographies are unique and grant us a wide classification
of environmental experiences as well. I lend special focus on the environmental
aspect of this meeting’s agenda, because it is not some national or regional
issue, but a global responsibility.
Climate change is a threat to the very existence
of life on our planet. We must, at all costs, accord environmental issues a
high priority in our policy formulation in line with the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) and numerous UN resolutions.
This highlights the need to ensure continued
world economic growth in environmentally sustainable ways, improve the economic
performance of least developed countries and at the same time achieve
significant reductions in the incidence of poverty, all this, through increased
economic cooperation.
Ladies and Gentlemen!
“Sustainable development” is a
universal goal that can only be achieved through peace and cooperation by
viewing the world through the prism of cooperation rather than competition.
We feel that this forum can be
utilized for achieving sustainable peace by addressing the underlying causes of
long-simmering, unresolved global conflicts; by tackling extreme poverty and
global socio-political and economic disparities; by giving a level-playing
field to all in trade and commerce; through responsible exploitation of natural
resources; by addressing the spectre of environmental degradation and climate
change; and by developing synergies and compatibilities between our national
aims and ambitions with the quest for inclusive development at the global
level.
The pathway to this common goal
passes through regional integration; trade liberalization; greater regional and
global connectivity; and a mutual appreciation and understanding of all
cultures and civilizations.
Pakistan, as a developing economy faces several
challenges. It not only needs to spur its economic growth and development, but
also needs to ensure that this growth and development is sustainable.
The ‘Vision 2025’ of the Government of Pakistan
aims at achieving sustainable development and to addresses human and social
development gaps. The seven pillars of Vision-2025 are fully aligned with the
SDGs, providing a comprehensive long-term strategy for achieving inclusive
growth and sustainable development.
Pakistan has prioritized the Sustainable
Development Goals which will enable us to join the league of upper middle-class
countries by 2030. Pakistan was the first country to adopt SDGs 2030 agenda
through a unanimous resolution of parliament.
Ladies and Gentlemen!
In order to achieve the goal of
sustainable development, it is imperative to resolve long, simmering global
disputes.
Jammu & Kashmir dispute
remains one of the longest lasting situations of foreign occupation, like
Palestine, and the longest unresolved issue on the agenda of the United Nations
Security Council.
The UN Security Council, through
its numerous resolutions, clearly and unequivocally, declared that the final
disposition of the State of Jammu & Kashmir would be made in accordance
with the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free
and impartial plebiscite, conducted under the auspices of the United Nation.
Sadly, today Jammu & Kashmir
remains an international flashpoint and the Kashmiris in Indian Occupied
Kashmir continue to suffer from worst human rights abuses.
The international community must
take urgent action to help stop the grave human rights violations taking place
in Indian Occupied Kashmir, and fulfill its moral responsibility towards the
Kashmiri people by helping them realize their inalienable right to
self-determination.
Ladies and Gentlemen!
At the Parliamentary level, the Asian
Parliamentary Assembly (APA) adopted a resolution in 2017, encouraging all
member Parliaments in Asia to support and promote the implementation of SDG’s
in their respective Parliaments. I am certain that Europe is equally committed
for the same.
We have excellent and successful examples such
as the European Parliament and the APA. While those platforms are dedicated to
their own intra-continental issues, we can seize this opportunity to formally
convert this platform into a strong Parliamentary Forum to oversight the
Executive and ensure supremacy of Parliament.
This unprecedented inter-continental
Parliamentary Forum will bring about a much-needed change in global cooperation
strategies, where bilateral and Parliamentary relations will be granted a new
dimension altogether. In this context, Pakistan would like to host meeting of
this Forum in the coming years.
I also feel that we must also establish a
permanent or rotational secretariat of this forum to practically achieve our
goals.
I would also like to mention that Pakistan will
be hosting forthcoming meeting of Asian Parliamentary Assembly’s Standing
Committee on Political Affairs and Special Committee for Creation of Asian Parliament (SCCAP) at Gwadar City from 29-31 October 2018 and we would like to see all the Members of APA,
especially the co-hosts, Republic of Turkey and Republic of Korea, in Gwadar.
Ladies and Gentlemen!
I am hopeful that if we are successful with
this endeavour, we can overcome global challenges with the might of our unity.
Let us all work together and complement each
other’s strengths and weaknesses to provide the next generations a much better
world to live in.
I thank you and hope
to see you all in Pakistan very soon.
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