The SCO media facilitation center was launched here at Pak-China Friendship Center by the Minister for Information and Broadcasting flanked by senior officers of the Ministry.
ISLAMABAD, Oct 14 (APP):The federal government on Monday launched the 'Media Facilitation Center' equipped with most modern facilities to assist international and local media during the regional Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit 2024 being hosted by Pakistan for the first time on October 15-16.
The SCO media facilitation center was launched here at Pak-China Friendship Center by the Minister for Information and Broadcasting flanked by senior officers of the Ministry.
The center has been decorated with thematic pictorials, banners and decorative material, fountains, highlighting the national landmarks of the members states participating in the two-day regional summit.
The SCO conference would be participated by nine full member countries being represented by the prime ministers of China, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan along-with the vice president of Iran and the external affairs minister of India.
It is to mention here that the organisation was established in 2001 by China and Russia to discuss security concerns in Central Asia and the wider region.
The media center has SMDs projecting banners of different SCO members, whereas a dedicated multimedia showcasing eye catching landscapes and cultural heritage of Pakistan has been installed. The Ministry has also set up a display center providing literature regarding notable literary figures, cultural heritage, archeological sites, tourism potential and other information valuable for the visiting dignitaries and the international media. A high speed wifi internet, studio, printers facilities have also been provided in the centre.
Member National Assembly, Barrister Daniyal Chaudhary visited the different stalls and cafeteria of the facilitation center and appreciated the Minister and his team for making all out efforts to establish an international standard facility.
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Pakistan emerges as important player in region: Tarar
ISLAMABAD, Oct 14 (APP):Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting, National Heritage and Culture Attaullah Tarar said on Monday that Pakistan which faced isolation on foreign policy affairs in the past, had now emerged as a key player in the region.
Talking to the media after the inauguration of the Media Facilitation Center at Pak China Friendship Center, he said the present government had succeeded to end diplomatic isolation of the country and now high level delegations from many countries have been visiting Pakistan in the recent past. " We are a very active player in the region, and we have to play an active role in the region", he remarked.
He said recently Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim concluded a highly successful visit to Pakistan and both countries signed arrangements to enhance bilateral cooperation in various sectors. Tarar said after his visit a high-level Saudi delegation led by a Minister arrived and inked many MoUs for Saudi investment worth 2.2 billion dollars in Pakistan.
He said that all economic indicators of Pakistan were positive with inflation decreasing to record 6.9 as compared to 32 per cent last year.
He said that foreign exchange reserves and IT exports had witnessed a surge and remittances during the first quarter of the current fiscal year had touched $ 8.8 billion mark.
International financial institutions like International Monetary Fund and World Bank praised Pakistan's economy and renowned financial journals like Bloomberg had termed Pakistan stock exchange as the most emerging market in the region, he remarked.
He said that the Chinese Prime Minister had come to Pakistan after 11
years which was an honour. The minister said China had always extended the hand of friendship to Pakistan, and after the recent visit of the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to China, the second phase of China Pakistan Economic Corridor was launched. During this phase, he said business to business cooperation will be increased. Tarar said that during the tenure of Nawaz Sharif as Prime Minister, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Phase-I was started under which a network of motorways was built, Gwadar Port made functional, many industrial and special economic zones were established and the energy sector was restructured to overcome load shedding. He urged the Chinese investors to set up industrial units in Pakistan as cost of production was low here. He assured that Pakistan will provide all possible facilities to Chinese investors.
The minister said that the SCO Summit being hosted by Pakistan was the first big event being held after 27 years.
Terming it a big honour for Pakistan to hold the SCO meeting, he said Islamabad was beautifully decorated on the occasion of the summit. He said that people of Pakistan were very hospitable and resilient people who will give a warm welcome to all guests.
Attaullah Tarar appreciated the entire team of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting led by Secretary Information Ambreen Jan for providing state of the art facilities at the Media Facilitation Center.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting was the eyes and ears of the government, which had the responsibility to defend the ideological frontiers of the country , he maintained.
He also appreciated the role of Principal Information Officer Mubasher Hasan for making best arrangements for foreign journalists covering the mega event.
Replying to questions of the media, he said hosting the SCO summit in Pakistan has restored the image of Pakistan at the global level.
He said efforts were being made to highlight the diverse and unique culture and heritage of Pakistan on this occasion.
"Our vision is to highlight our culture, progressive approach and peaceful thinking and remove misconceptions about Pakistan by portraying capabilities, resilience and brilliance of our people", he added.
To a question about a protest call of a political party on October 15, he said egoism on one side and patriotism on the other. He made it clear that no political leader or party was bigger than Pakistan He termed
Tehreek-e-Insaf's call was a show of irresponsibility and non seriousness as they had differences and many senior leaders had opposed it.
Strong security arrangements have been made in Islamabad and no one would be allowed to protest in the city.
He said that the Ministry of Information had set up a state of the art Media Facilitation Center for the SCO summit and the objective was to give a message that Pakistanis were a peace loving people who believed in peace and prosperity of the entire region. He said Pakistan believed that SCO had a great role to play with regard to peace and prosperity of the region.
The minister said the Prime Minister will present Pakistan's viewpoint in the SCO conference regarding Palestine and Kashmir disputes.
He said Pakistan had a clear stance that genocide was going on in Gaza and war crimes were being committed there and the perpetrator Israel should be held accountable for these crimes. He said Pakistan has been calling for an immediate ceasefire and establishment of an independent Palestinian state on pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds as its capital.
Pakistan, he said, had offered Palestinian medical students education in Pakistani educational institutions.
The friendship between Pakistan and China is eternal, beyond any ordinary strategic partnership. This friendship was passed on from one generation to the next generation for many decades. He said that strict arrangements have been made for the security of Chinese citizens and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had deep personal focus on their security.
Earlier Attaullah Tarar inaugurated the Media Facilitation Center for local and foreign media covering the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. Parliamentary Secretary for Information and Broadcasting Barrister Danyal Chaudhary,
Federal Secretary Ambreen Jan, Principal Information Officer (PIO) Mubasher Hassan and other senior officials of the Ministry of Information were also present on the occasion.
Local and foreign media representatives will benefit from the Media Facilitation Center on the occasion of the SCO Summit to be held on October 15 and 16.
The Media Facilitation Center established at Pak-China Friendship Center has modern facilities including computer lab, high speed internet, digital printer, digital studio, podcast studio, media library, conference room.
Elaborate arrangements have been made by the Press Information Department (PID) at the Media Facilitation Centre.
A digital library has also been set up at the Media Facilitation Center by the Directorate of Electronic Media and Publications.
An information desk has also been established in the Media Facilitation Center for the convenience of local and foreign journalists.
During the SCO Summit, the Media Facilitation Center will provide round-the-clock facilities for journalists covering the mega event.
