Foreign Minister’s speech at the CICA Ministerial Meeting

Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi participated in a Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), hosted in virtual format today by Kazakhstan.

Addressing the Ministerial Meeting, Foreign Minister gave Pakistan’s perspective on a range of important issues at regional and international level especially challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Foreign Minister emphasized that cooperative multilateralism is the best mechanism for effectively addressing complex challenges, for which United Nations and its Charter provide the over-arching framework.

The Foreign Minister highlighted Pakistan’s role for the promotion of peace and security and sustainable development in the region especially Pakistan’s important contribution for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. He also underscored Pakistan’s role in strengthening connectivity in Asia through various initiatives, especially the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

As conflict prevention and confidence building remain important objectives of CICA, Foreign Minister underlined the importance of resolving the core dispute of Jammu and Kashmir for long-term peace and security in South Asia, in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people. The Foreign Minister highlighted continued atrocities by Indian occupation forces in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), especially since its unilateral and illegal actions of August last year.

CICA is an intergovernmental initiative aimed at promoting peace, security and stability in Asia. With 27 member states, CICA is a forum for interaction and collaboration among countries across Asia. Pakistan is one of CICA’s founding members and has been actively participating in its work. At the Ministerial meeting today, the CICA Chairmanship was transferred from Tajikistan to Kazakhstan for the next two years.

Islamabad

24 September 2020

395/2020