Council of Foreign Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) hasunanimously adopted Pakistan’s proposal to set up a Center of Excellence inIslamabad and a Joint Working Group on Poverty Alleviation.

This was stated by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a video messageon the conclusion of SCO meeting in Moscow on Thursday.

He said all the members were of the view that the Corona pandemic stillexists and for that we should formulate a common strategy to deal with. Hesaid the SCO countries appreciated the role of China for providingtechnical assistance during the pandemic and congratulated Russia formaking a vaccine for the treatment of coronavirus. He said it was agreedthat the vaccine should be used for the public good, keeping commercialinterests at bay.

He said the forum emphasized that the role of United Nations should becentral at the global level as well as regional level. PresentingPakistan’s viewpoint, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said if member state focus onthe role of the United Nations, then its resolutions should be fullyrespected.

The Foreign Minister said with regard to the importance of Belt and RoadInitiative and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), all except India,agreed that these projects are of utmost importance for the development ofconnectivity in the region.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi said during the joint declaration, India raised apoint of contention on one paragraph of China and even at the expert levelit could not be agreed upon. Eventually the objection was raised at theforeign minister level and China’s point of view was unwillingly acceptedby India.