The 7th China-South Asia Friendship Organizations’ Forum was held online and offline today (22nd) to promote exchanges and cooperation among South Asian countries. Diplomatic envoys, governments, NGO representatives and media from South Asian countries and China attended the high-level forum and reached consensus on friendly exchanges between South Asian countries and China.
The forum is co-hosted by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and the Organization for South Asian Regional Friendship and Cooperation with China (OSARFCC). A total of 140 diplomatic envoys, government representatives, NGOs and personages from 23 Chinese provinces and 6 South Asian countries attended the meeting.
“Pakistan is committed to working with South Asian countries to achieve our common goals on the basis of mutual respect, trust and cooperation. We also sincerely acknowledge, appreciate and support China’s efforts and initiatives of promoting friendship and collaborative partnerships with the region,” Moin ul Haque, Pakistani ambassador to China, said at the event.
He also mentioned that South Asia, a densely populated region and house to one-third of world population, also has its share of these challenges. Despite its low ranking in human development and other socio-economic indicators, the region in terms of its historical significance, strategic location, immense resources and enterprising spirit of its people holds a great promise to embrace the idea of common development and win-win cooperation to usher in an era of peace and prosperity for its people and neighboring countries and regions. This view was highly shared by all participants.
Lin Songtian, chairman of the CPAFFC, specifically mentioned CPEC. “Despite the epidemic, CPEC has been built with a total investment of more than 25.4 billion US dollars and 75,000 jobs for Pakistan,” he said, “The 21st century is an Asian century. Maintaining peace, stability, development and prosperity in this region has served the common interests of China and South Asian countries and is also our shared responsibility.”
As a representative of Pakistani NGO, Muhammad Ikhlaq Usmani, President of All Pakistan-China Friendship Association (APCFA), he recalled the solid friendship between Pakistan and China, and announced that Pakistani NGOs would love to develop people-to-people among South Asian countries. In recent years, Pakistan’s non-governmental friendship organizations, including APCFA, have been making efforts to achieve regional prosperity and common development.
At the end of the forum, Lin Yi, vice president of CPAFFC, issued the Joint Declaration of the 7th China-South Asia Friendship Organizations’ forum.
