ISLAMABAD - Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) for Afghanistan, Jan Kubis, called on the Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, on Monday.
The discussions focussed on matters related to Afghanistan and Pakistan-Afghanistan relations.
The Adviser underscored the importance Pakistan attached to a stable, peaceful and united Afghanistan and wished the Afghan people well during the security, political and economic transitions in 2014 and beyond.
The Adviser underscored Pakistan’s resolve to support the international community’s efforts for stability in Afghanistan. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s steadfast support for an inclusive Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process.
The Adviser also highlighted the positive developments in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, marked by frequent high-level exchanges and growing emphasis on bilateral trade and economic agenda as well as regional cooperation.
Appreciating UNAMA’s efforts, the Adviser underscored the importance of deeper engagement of the United Nations and the international community in the economic development and reconstruction of Afghanistan.
He further emphasised that the international community should help create conducive conditions for the early return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan and their sustainable reintegration in Afghanistan.
Kubis recognised Pakistan’s role in peace and stability in Afghanistan and the efforts under way to build a positive relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan. He also highlighted UN’s supportive role in diverse sectors in Afghanistan as per UNAMA’s mandate.
Kubis later called on Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry and exchanged views on Afghanistan, growing Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral cooperation, and regional process.
The Foreign Secretary lauded UN’s role and highlighted Pakistan’s continuing commitment to support Afghanistan through this crucial juncture and in the years to come.
Meanwhile, Sartaj Aziz on Monday said that military action in North Waziristan against Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is being considered, which does not mean that talks with Taliban are discarded.
He informed that consultation on action in North Waziristan is underway and political leadership would be taken on board on any decision to be taken regarding military action.
He further said that Federal Cabinet would take up the issue of talks with Taliban on Tuesday (today), dialogue process is not discarded yet.
The Prime Minister would take his Cabinet member into confidence over talks and would listen to their views in this regard.
Speaking in seminar on Economic Policies for Inclusive and Sustainable Development in South Asia, he made it clear that government would not hold talks with Afghan Taliban. He further said that 23 FC soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, which were kidnapped from Pakistan few years back. The government has several time raise the issue of kidnapping of FC men with Afghan government, he added.
Earlier, addressing the seminar, Sartaj Aziz said expressed the need for fostering greater regional cooperation in South Asia. He observed that while structural reforms are needed in the domestic economy of Pakistan, there is also a need for more open and inclusive policies so as to ensure sustained growth.
Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms said that a holistic and integrated approach to productive economic sectors and their predicaments will be the government’s top most priority.
He further said that a stable macroeconomic environment supplemented by important structural reforms should sustain economic growth, which ultimately should be led by the private sector of Pakistan.
The reforms would focus on an integrated energy reform, modernisation of infrastructure, indigenous resource mobilisation, investments in human and social capital, and institutional reforms for governance, he said.
The Minister also expressed the govt’s willingness to expand regional cooperation with all the neighbouring economies, including China, India and Afghanistan.
Abid Suleri, Executive Director, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) remarked that with the slowing down of economic growth in the Western world as well as in China, the most important challenge for policy makers in South Asia is to kick start a robust growth process and sustain it in a manner that does not harm natural and human resources.
In this regards it is very important that the political leadership assumes a stronger coordination role, he said.
The complex political economy requires deeper coordination between sectoral policies such as agriculture and industrial policies. These sectoral policies should then be syncronised with inclusive macroeconomic policies including fiscal and trade policies, he added.
Earlier during the day, Hafiz Pasha, Former Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs expressed that South Asian economies now face an immediate need for increase in regional trade, particularly in the context of declining export markets in the global economy.
He was speaking at a meeting of experts on Economy of Tomorrow (EoT).
He said that while the International Monetary Fund disbursed a huge amount for the rescue of Greece, the multilateral agency allowed a much lesser amount for Pakistan and that too with a number of stringent conditionalities. Briefing about the EoT project, Philipp Kauppert, Resident Director of the FES, said that the project seeks to focus on how an inclusive and sustainable model for economic growth can be adopted and implemented as global economic paradigms change.
Marc Saxer from FES Thailand observed that the ideas of modern capitalism and neo-liberal growth have now started to show signs of weakness and cannot be counted on anymore. He said that there is now need for a new growth paradigm that is environment-friendly, socially just, and ensures resilient growth.
Hansjörg Herr, Professor at the Berlin School of Economics and Law, introduced the participants to the idea of decent capitalism, which dictates that markets should be embedded within insitutions. Unregulated markets can have disastrous implications, as experienced in the case of the European Monetary Union and the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. While markets can spur economic growth, there is need for better regulation so as to ensure socially inclusive economies, he added
The discussions focussed on matters related to Afghanistan and Pakistan-Afghanistan relations.
The Adviser underscored the importance Pakistan attached to a stable, peaceful and united Afghanistan and wished the Afghan people well during the security, political and economic transitions in 2014 and beyond.
The Adviser underscored Pakistan’s resolve to support the international community’s efforts for stability in Afghanistan. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s steadfast support for an inclusive Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process.
The Adviser also highlighted the positive developments in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, marked by frequent high-level exchanges and growing emphasis on bilateral trade and economic agenda as well as regional cooperation.
Appreciating UNAMA’s efforts, the Adviser underscored the importance of deeper engagement of the United Nations and the international community in the economic development and reconstruction of Afghanistan.
He further emphasised that the international community should help create conducive conditions for the early return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan and their sustainable reintegration in Afghanistan.
Kubis recognised Pakistan’s role in peace and stability in Afghanistan and the efforts under way to build a positive relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan. He also highlighted UN’s supportive role in diverse sectors in Afghanistan as per UNAMA’s mandate.
Kubis later called on Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry and exchanged views on Afghanistan, growing Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral cooperation, and regional process.
The Foreign Secretary lauded UN’s role and highlighted Pakistan’s continuing commitment to support Afghanistan through this crucial juncture and in the years to come.
Meanwhile, Sartaj Aziz on Monday said that military action in North Waziristan against Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is being considered, which does not mean that talks with Taliban are discarded.
He informed that consultation on action in North Waziristan is underway and political leadership would be taken on board on any decision to be taken regarding military action.
He further said that Federal Cabinet would take up the issue of talks with Taliban on Tuesday (today), dialogue process is not discarded yet.
The Prime Minister would take his Cabinet member into confidence over talks and would listen to their views in this regard.
Speaking in seminar on Economic Policies for Inclusive and Sustainable Development in South Asia, he made it clear that government would not hold talks with Afghan Taliban. He further said that 23 FC soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, which were kidnapped from Pakistan few years back. The government has several time raise the issue of kidnapping of FC men with Afghan government, he added.
Earlier, addressing the seminar, Sartaj Aziz said expressed the need for fostering greater regional cooperation in South Asia. He observed that while structural reforms are needed in the domestic economy of Pakistan, there is also a need for more open and inclusive policies so as to ensure sustained growth.
Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms said that a holistic and integrated approach to productive economic sectors and their predicaments will be the government’s top most priority.
He further said that a stable macroeconomic environment supplemented by important structural reforms should sustain economic growth, which ultimately should be led by the private sector of Pakistan.
The reforms would focus on an integrated energy reform, modernisation of infrastructure, indigenous resource mobilisation, investments in human and social capital, and institutional reforms for governance, he said.
The Minister also expressed the govt’s willingness to expand regional cooperation with all the neighbouring economies, including China, India and Afghanistan.
Abid Suleri, Executive Director, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) remarked that with the slowing down of economic growth in the Western world as well as in China, the most important challenge for policy makers in South Asia is to kick start a robust growth process and sustain it in a manner that does not harm natural and human resources.
In this regards it is very important that the political leadership assumes a stronger coordination role, he said.
The complex political economy requires deeper coordination between sectoral policies such as agriculture and industrial policies. These sectoral policies should then be syncronised with inclusive macroeconomic policies including fiscal and trade policies, he added.
Earlier during the day, Hafiz Pasha, Former Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs expressed that South Asian economies now face an immediate need for increase in regional trade, particularly in the context of declining export markets in the global economy.
He was speaking at a meeting of experts on Economy of Tomorrow (EoT).
He said that while the International Monetary Fund disbursed a huge amount for the rescue of Greece, the multilateral agency allowed a much lesser amount for Pakistan and that too with a number of stringent conditionalities. Briefing about the EoT project, Philipp Kauppert, Resident Director of the FES, said that the project seeks to focus on how an inclusive and sustainable model for economic growth can be adopted and implemented as global economic paradigms change.
Marc Saxer from FES Thailand observed that the ideas of modern capitalism and neo-liberal growth have now started to show signs of weakness and cannot be counted on anymore. He said that there is now need for a new growth paradigm that is environment-friendly, socially just, and ensures resilient growth.
Hansjörg Herr, Professor at the Berlin School of Economics and Law, introduced the participants to the idea of decent capitalism, which dictates that markets should be embedded within insitutions. Unregulated markets can have disastrous implications, as experienced in the case of the European Monetary Union and the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. While markets can spur economic growth, there is need for better regulation so as to ensure socially inclusive economies, he added
No comments:
Post a Comment
thank you for your precious time and feedback.