Foreign Secretary inaugurates regional conference of Central Asian Countries on strategic export control programme

Celina Ali

Islamabad: Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi on Wednesday inaugurated the two-day Regional Conference on Export Control Programme for Dual-Use Goods in Central Asia, being held in Islamabad.

Co-organized by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad and the European Union, the Regional Conference brings together Senior officials and Experts from Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, the US, the EU, the UN and representatives of multilateral export control regimes and other international organizations The participants will discuss national approaches on strategic trade controls with a view to promoting international cooperation on trade of goods and technologies, in line with the relevant United Nations Resolutions, particularly UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1540.

At the inaugural session, Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi underlined the right of developing countries to access dual-use goods & technologies for socio-economic development and urged striking a balance between protecting national security interests and facilitating legitimate trade. He stated that Pakistan is diligently fulfilling all its obligations pertaining to nonproliferation and disarmament. As a responsible state of a thriving technology landscape with advanced nuclear technology, Pakistan remains fully cognizant of its nonproliferation obligations, he stated.

In his welcome address, Director General SECDIV, Haroon Rashid, briefed the participants on Pakistan’s extensive legislative, regulatory and administrative framework for exercising controls over the transfer of sensitive goods and technologies to prevent their diversion to non-peaceful uses. Pakistan’s national control lists are fully harmonized with those of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and Australia Group (AG) and its export control regime is at par with the highest international standards.

The Regional Conference showcases Pakistan’s robust cooperation with regional and global stakeholders in non-proliferation efforts. The Conference also demonstrates Pakistan’s role as an important partner of the international community in the implementation of strategic trade controls in line with the objectives of UNSC Resolution – 1540.