ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Passed On SAARC Trade Officials Video Conference . Government of Pakistan, on Wednesday, skipped the ‘Trade Officials Video-Conference on Covid-19′ of the SAARC countries arranged by India. Pakistan FO said such activities could only be effective if spearheaded by the SAARC Secretariat.
According to details, foreign office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said this in her weekly briefings while responding to a media query. She said that being a founding member, Pakistan believed that SAARC provides an important platform for regional cooperation.
She asserted that the role of the Secretariat assumes further salience in emergency situations such as the Covid-19 pandemic, and its wider social and economic fall-out. As in the case of other regional and international organizations, she said that SAARC Secretariat also provides the requisite convening platform, institutional framework and support structure for essential coordination and follow-up.
Pakistan Passed On SAARC Trade Officials Video Conference.
Activities such as today’s Trade Officials’ Video-Conference could only be effective if spearheaded by the SAARC Secretariat, she emphasised. Since the SAARC Secretariat was not part of today’s Video-Conference, Pakistan chose not to participate, she explained.
Earlier on March 26, Pakistan had participated in such a conference of the health professionals from the SAARC member states. PM’s special assistant on health services Dr Zafar Mirza represented Pakistan at the video conference. It was chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.