Daily Times

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has told the United Nations on Wednesday that the flagship multibillion dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project is an “exceptional example” of South-South cooperation that is aimed at achievement of shared economic and development goals.

“CPEC’s scale and scope is enormous and it is expected to bring huge economic and developmental benefits not just to China and Pakistan, but also to our region and beyond,” Ambassador Dr Maleeha Lodhi said in a speech to the General Assembly’s Second Committee, which deals with economic and financial matters. Speaking in a debate on Operational Activities for Development & South-South Cooperation, she said Pakistan has always attached great importance to collaboration between developing countries which is vital to bolster their productive capacities.

While South-South cooperation is important, it’s no substitution for North-South cooperation, the envoy said. Pakistan, she said, had been providing training, technical support and other resources to many developing countries. Maleeha Lodhi said that next year’s Second High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation in Argentina will be an opportunity to evaluate the impact of the cooperation on development around the world.

In her remarks, Ambassador Lodhi also highlighted concerns with operational activities, emphasising that the UN development system should remain focused on achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

“Achievement of the SDGs is critical, while upholding the principle of national ownership and leadership over the entire developmental process,” she added. Furthermore, the Pakistani envoy said, there were no one-size-fits-all solutions, which must be tailor-made to individual countries, development priorities and long-term needs, with geographical balance and hiring of qualified nationals of the country concerned.

Published in Daily Times, October 25^th 2018.