Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Thursday said holding the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of Government meeting in Islamabad will pave way for strengthening the regional cooperation and resolving common issues.

Addressing a media workshop organized by a Chinese media group here in Islamabad, he said it is great honour for Pakistan to host the SCO Summit. The Information Minister said the SCO Summit is taking place at the time when our economy is on a positive trajectory and the economic indicators are showing positive trends.

He said the country received foreign remittances of worth 8.8 billion dollars during the past three months, while the number of tax filers has also increased due to comprehensive reforms introduced by the government.

He said Pakistan’s IT exports have risen to 3.2 billion dollars, showing fourteen percent increase in the overall exports of the country.

About war on terror, Attaullah Tarar said Pakistan lost more than eighty thousand lives in war against terrorism. He said collective regional efforts are required to establish peace in the region.

The Minister said regional cooperation is needed to cope with the impacts of climate change as Pakistan is among the few countries that have been badly affected by the adverse impacts of climate change, despite contributing less than one percent of the total global carbon emission.

He emphasized the need to promote culture and people to people contacts among regional countries. He said there is need to focus on digital economy, and increasing trade and investment.

About the Palestine issue, he said Pakistan raised an effective voice for Palestine at SCO Summit in Astana last year as well, besides the United Nations.