Pakistani premier stresses cooperation within SAARC countries
By Indra Adhikari
Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shaukat Aziz, has stressed for more cooperation within the South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation (SAARC) family for not just a desirable goal but for a vital shared objective.
He was addressing a programme on, "Promoting Regional Cooperation- Pakistan's objective," organised in the capital,
Kathmandu, jointly by Nepal Council of World Affairs and Pakistani Embassy on Monday. Prime Minister Aziz is the present
chairman the seven-member regional pact.
He further stressed to achieve a meaningful regional cooperation in the region that is necessary for institutionalizing
the process of building confidence and resolving disputes to create a truly enabling environment.
The Pakistani premier said his country oppose any form of interference in the internal affairs of Nepal and remain
prepared to extend any assistance that Nepal may require. The Pakistani premier had arrived Kathmandu on Monday with hid
60-member delegation team and met his Nepali counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba the same day. Both the leaders discussed
bilateral relations and regional cooperation.
He was granted audience by the King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev later that day.
He is scheduled to visit Bhutan and Bangladesh as part of his tour of SAARC nations are Nepal. Later, he will also visit
India, Maldives and Sri Lanka.