ISLAMABAD – An Iranian envoy has proposed a new bloc of five countries –Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, Russia and China — to boost cooperation andresolve issues in the region.
“Countries like Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Russia and China have the potentialto form a new alliance for better future of the region,” Iran’s Ambassadorto Pakistan Seyyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini said in a lecture at the IslamabadStrategic Studies Institute (ISSI) on Tuesday.
In view of cooperation among important regional countries, Hosseini said,Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) — a political and economicintergovernmental organization of Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey — can playits role in the economic development.
“ECO provides an appropriate opportunity for Iran-Pakistan to coordinatetheir policies in line with economic growth and render necessary ground tofacilitate economic activities and encourage investment and trade andremove transit hurdles between the two countries,” he added.
The Iranian envoy said Pakistan, as an Islamic and neighboring country,attains special place in the foreign policy of Iran.
“Iran and Pakistan have participated in most of OIC [Organization ofIslamic Cooperation] conferences. Unfortunately, due to role of somecountries, this organization has not been effective in addressing issues ofthe Islamic Ummah and taking positions in the support of Islamic cause,” hesaid, without naming the countries.
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Hosseini also called for enhancing cooperation among developing Muslimcountries to create a common Islamic Market.
“D-8 Group of the developing Islamic countries; i.e. Indonesia, Iran,Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey, Malaysia, Egypt and Nigeria, is a regionalforum for boosting of strong economic ties among the developing Islamiccountries,” he said.
Talking about Pakistan’s Gwadar and Iran’s Chabahar Ports, the ambassadorsaid the two ports complement each other.
“Establishment of rail network between Gwadar and Chabahar and its link upto Europe and Central Asia through Iran, will usher major economicdevelopment in the region. On the other hand, construction of Railway trackon Pakistani territory to China, linking the two ports will lead towardseconomic development in this region,” Hosseini concluded.
