SCO member countries can be mutually beneficial: Pakistani Information Minister
Gwadar Pro
Islamabad: Pakistani Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi has said that Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries can benefit from each other’s experiences and advanced technologies.
Addressing Shanghai Cooperation Organization TV Festival in Nanjing, China, the Minister invited the media organizations of SCO countries to partner with Pakistan in joint production and other projects.
Citing the iron clad friendship between Pakistan and China, the Information Minister maintained that the cultural links between the two countries are centuries old and these have been further strengthened by China-Pakistan Economic Cooperation (CPEC) framework.
In his speech, officially released here, the Information Minister mentioned that China and Pakistan had declared 2023 as the year of tourism exchange to promote exchanges at the public level as well as to create a vibrant tourism and cultural ecosystem for the mutual benefit.
He noted that joint productions will help promote culture and tourism in the member countries.
The Information Minister suggested that the media organizations of SCO need to increase cooperation in various fields including joint production and documentaries to promote cultural affinity.
He remarked that being a member of the SCO, Pakistan was committed to promoting media cooperation.
Murtaza Solangi underlined that collaboration in mainstream media and social media was very important to foster people to people contacts.
Earlier, Murtaza Solangi, separately met Russian and Chinese officials and sought partnerships and collaboration in TV and radio projects as well as training initiatives and journalist delegation exchanges.
Solangi is on a visit to China for the Television Festival 2023 organized by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Nanjing.
On the sidelines of the festival, the minister held bilateral discussions with the Chinese Minister for National Radio and TV, Cao Shumin, and Russia’s Deputy Minister for Information, Bela Cherkesova.
In his meeting with the Chinese minister for radio and TV, the two politicians “expressed their resolve to enhance cooperation in the areas of television and radio and vowed to promote innovation in media technology and exchange of journalist delegations.”
The minister also called for initiating a Chinese Hour program on Pakistan’s state-owned Pakistan Television (PTV) to promote the activities of Chinese media in Pakistan.
Solangi separately met with the Russian deputy information minister, with both sides reaffirming their commitment to promote cooperation in mass media and initiate joint production and training programs.
Cherkesova accepted an invitation to visit Pakistan. Noting the popularity of Pakistani television dramas in Russia, she discussed the possibility of exchanging plays and other productions between the two countries.
Pakistan and China are decades-old allies, especially through the CPEC of energy and infrastructure projects for which Beijing has pledged over US $ 60 billion in Pakistan since 2015. Pakistan’s relations with Russia have also improved recently and Islamabad has brought oil on discounted rates from Moscow.
