Commonwealth stronger and more cohesive under Rajapaksa’s leadership: Nawaz Sharif

Thursday, 14 November 2013 01:14 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has congratulated the Government and people of Sri Lanka for hosting the important Commonwealth Summit in their beautiful country. In his special message on the occasion of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, he expressed his confidence in the astute leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and said that Commonwealth will become a stronger and more cohesive organisation under his leadership.

Sharif will be arriving in Colombo tomorrow to represent Pakistan at the Commonwealth Summit. His delegation includes Begum Kulsoom Nawaz Sharif, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi, Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecom Anusha Rahman Ahmad Khan and the Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbasi Jilani. The Prime Minister reaffirmed that Pakistan being a democracy and a responsible member of the global community subscribes to the work of the Commonwealth for promoting peace through international co-operation, poverty alleviation through sustainable economic and social development. Theme of this year’s summit ‘Growth with Equity – Inclusive Development’ is therefore, highly relevant, he added. Sharif fondly recalled that he represented Pakistan in the Harare Summit in 1991, where the landmark declaration was adopted setting out the core principles and values of the Commonwealth. Commonly known as the ‘Harare Principles,’ these values and principles encompassing democracy, freedom, peace, the rule of law, respect for human rights and opportunity for all, serve as a binding force amongst its member states, he added Pakistan is one of the eight founding members of the Commonwealth, which signed the London Declaration of April 1949. Pakistan makes annual contributions to five heads of the Commonwealth namely Commonwealth Secretariat (COMSEC), Commonwealth Foundation (CF), Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation (CFTC), Commonwealth Youth Program (CYP) and the Commonwealth of Learning (COL).