Pakistan joins regional countries launching media coop alliance

INP,  Pakistan Observer

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Pakistan joined 17 regional countries, launching here media’s cooperation alliance to promote the spirit and objectives of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), says a message received here from Beijing. The countries including the SCO’s full member states, observers and dialogue partners pledged to work jointly to promote peace, stability and economic prosperity in the region through media’s cooperation.

The media’s alliance came into being at the first 1st SCO Media summit, organized by China Public Diplomacy [JB emphasis] Association, Beijing Municipal Information Office and Radio Beijing Corporation. Pakistan was represented at the conference by the senior official of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Shafqat Jalil and Pakistan’s ambassador to China Khalid Masood, besides some representatives of Pakistani media.

Shafqat Jalil assured the SCO’s states that Pakistani media would always be on forefront in promoting the cooperative partnership in achieving their common goals within the organization’s framework. He lauded the China’s leadership role in spreading the message of peace, tranquility and win-win cooperative partnership world over. In his message to the conference, President Xi Jinping called on media outlets to promote the ‘Shanghai Spirit’, expand practical cooperation and spread friendliness among the peoples within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Xi, who is also the general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee said the media are an important bridge for exchanges, cooperation and people-to-people connectivity among SCO countries. In today’s world, where informatization is developing rapidly, the media play an increasingly significant role in connecting hearts and minds of people from different countries, he said, adding that he is confident the summit will play a positive role in building strength for the organization, he added.

The media’s conference, proposed by Xi in June last year at the SCO Astana summit in Kazakhstan, and with the theme ‘upholding Shanghai Spirit for a new era of media cooperation’, aimed to promote exchanges and cooperation in humanities. Government officials and representatives from more than 110 media outlets from SCO countries attended the summit. The SCO countries should strengthen unity and coordination and contribute more ‘SCO wisdom and solutions’ to long-term regional stability and prosperity, said Huang Kunming, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, in the keynote speech at the opening session.

Huang asserted that in promoting the ‘Shanghai Spirit’, media outlets should build up the strength of shared future and cooperate to build a shared communication network. He voiced the hope that media will proactively advocate a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security perspective, keep close watch on the security situation and make the voice of peace and justice louder.—INP