ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar is scheduled to address the 16th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Summit in Tashkent on Thursday and attend a reception arranged in the honor of the leaders of participating countries, confirmed his office in Islamabad.
The ECO, an intergovernmental organization, was established by Pakistan, Iran and Turkiye in 1985 and has since expanded its membership to include Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries.
Kakar arrived in Uzbekistan on Wednesday to discuss issues related to enhanced trade and regional connectivity.
“The Prime Minister will meet the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev,” said the PM Office while sharing his schedule for the day. “Bilateral relations of Azerbaijan and Pakistan, regional and global issues will be discussed in the said meeting.”
“The Prime Minister is also expected to visit the historical city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where he will go to the shrine of Hazrat Imam Bukhari,” the statement added.
The Pakistani premier has already held meetings with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and ECO Secretary-General Khusrav Noziri since his arrival in the Central Asian country.
The meetings reviewed the recent developments under the purview of ECO, especially in the domain of trade, connectivity and economic cooperation.
The Pakistan PM also expressed satisfaction at the growing level of bilateral cooperation during his meeting with the Uzbekistan president while emphasizing the importance of sustaining the momentum.
The regional forum aims to utilize the economic potential of its member states that collectively form a mammoth market of over 500 million people by creating increased trade and investment opportunities.
Pakistan PM to address 16th ECO Summit in Tashkent, discuss regional connectivity
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Pakistan PM to address 16th ECO Summit in Tashkent, discuss regional connectivity
- PM Kakar has met the Uzbekistan president and will hold a meeting Azerbaijan’s leader Ilham Aliyev
- The prime minister is expected to visit Samarkand today where he will go to Imam Bukhari’s shrine
At UNSC, Pakistan warns competition for critical minerals could fuel global conflict
- The demand for critical minerals has surged worldwide due to rapid expansion of electric vehicles, advanced electronics and clean energy technologies
- Pakistan’s representative says all partnerships in critical minerals sector must be ‘cooperative and not exploitative’ and respect national ownership
ISLAMABAD: Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), has warned that intensifying global competition over critical minerals could become a new driver of global conflict, urging stronger international cooperation and equitable access to resources vital for the world’s energy transition.
The warning comes as demand for critical minerals and rare earth elements surges worldwide due to the rapid expansion of electric vehicles, advanced electronics and clean energy technologies, with governments and companies increasingly competing to secure supply chains while raising concerns that this may lead to geopolitical rivalries in the coming years.
Speaking at a Security Council briefing on ‘Energy, Critical Minerals, and Security,’ Ahmad said experience showed that the risks of instability increased where mineral wealth intersected with weak governance, entrenched poverty and external interference.
“Access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy is essential for development, stability and prosperity. The global transition toward renewable energy, electric mobility, battery storage and digital infrastructure has sharply increased the demand for critical minerals,” he said.
“This upsurge has generated new geopolitical and geo-economic pressures. If not managed responsibly, competition over natural resources can affect supply chains, aggravate tensions, undermine sovereignty and contribute to instability.”
In several conflict-affected settings, he noted, illicit extraction, trafficking networks and opaque financial flows have fueled armed conflict and violence, weakened state institutions and deprived populations of legitimate revenues.
“The scramble for natural resources and its linkage to conflict and instability is therefore not new,” Ahmad told UNSC members at the briefing. “Pakistan believes that natural resources must serve as instruments of economic development and shared prosperity, and not coercion or conflict.”
He urged the world to reaffirm the right of peoples to permanent sovereignty over their natural resources, saying all partnerships in the critical minerals sector must be cooperative and not exploitative, respect national ownership, ensure transparent contractual arrangements and align with host countries’ development strategies.
“In order to prevent the exploitation of mineral-producing countries and regions, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected settings, support their capacity-building for strengthening domestic regulatory institutions, combating illicit financial flows, ensuring environmental safeguards, and promoting equitable benefit-sharing with local communities,” he asked member states.
“Promote equitable participation in global value chains. Developing countries must be enabled to move beyond extraction toward processing, refining and downstream manufacturing. Technology transfer, skills development and responsible investment are essential to avoid perpetuating structural imbalances.”
