ISLAMABAD: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz led Pakistan’s delegation to the 2nd Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Summit in Bangkok on Monday.
The ACD is a forum of 34 Asian countries which aims to strengthen regional cooperation by incorporating Asian economies based on strengths and diversity of Asian resources and to form a single Asian Community for socio-economic uplift, says a press statement issued here.
The ACD was born in 2002 and convened its first summit in 2012 in Kuwait. Pakistan is one of the founding members of ACD. While addressing the 2nd ACD summit, the adviser highlighted the government’s efforts for strengthening and reviving of the national economy which has started showing positive results and measurable rebound.
He pledged Pakistan’s full support to ACD’s Vision 2030 and its six pillars of regional cooperation namely, interrelation of food, energy and water security, connectivity, science technology and innovation, education and human resource development, tourism and culture and alternative approaches to sustainable development.
He ensured that Pakistan’s cooperation as prime mover for leading the ACD priority area in regional connectivity with other member States in addition to extending cooperation in the area of culture and tourism. On regional connectivity, he highlighted the crucial role of China Pakistan Economic Corridor’s (CPEC) for regional integration.
In conclusion the summit adopted three outcome documents i.e. Bangkok declaration, the Vision for Asia Cooperation 2030, and ACD statement on reigniting growth for partnership for connectivity.
