ISLAMABAD, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- A spokesperson of Pakistan's Foreign Office said the South Asian country wished to see a strong Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) to enhance effective regional cooperation.
Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told a weekly press briefing on Thursday that intra-regional trade and connectivity will be enhanced and tourism will be promoted through the ECO platform.
Briefing about Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's recent visit to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to attend an ECO meeting, she said Zardari called for harmonizing trade policies during the meeting.
The foreign minister also emphasized establishing robust infrastructure and facilitating free movement of goods and services to enhance intra-regional cooperation, she added.
Zardari spoke about the challenges of climate change-induced natural disasters and proposed a time-tested, well-funded and strategically robust emergency response mechanism in the region.
The ECO, which groups Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, aims to improve development and promote trade in the region. ■