Islamabad: On invitation of the Italian Foreign Minister, H.E. Mr. Franco Frattini, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar, participated in the Ministerial Conference on “Global Governance and Security Council Reform” held in Rome on 16 May 2011.
Stating Pakistan’s principled position, the Minister of State underlined the need for a comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council to be achieved through consensus and compromise. “The futility of unilateral and piecemeal initiatives based on rigid positions has been amply proved in the past and also in the prevailing scenario. If anything, such moves deepen divisions and breed mistrust which only perpetuates stalemate and delays the reform process at large”, she noted. “There is no doubt in our mind that in order to move forward, we need to arrive at a workable middle ground that caters to the interests of the large majority of members and not just of a select few. Such an outcome will certainly be at some distance from our original positions, but it will be a win-win for all”, emphasized the minister of State.
The Conference, attended by delegations of over 120 countries, concluded with key messages of avoiding divisive approaches, promoting consensus through negotiations and working for a compromise solution of Security Council reform acceptable to the widest possible majority of the UN membership.
On the sidelines of the Conference, the Minister of State had several bilateral meetings today including with the Foreign Minister of Mexico, H.E. Patricia Cantellano, Foreign Minister of Egypt, H.E. Nabil El Arabi, and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, H.E. Nizar bin Obaid Madani. She also had a meeting with the current President of the UN General Assmbly, H.E. Joseph Deiss. The Minister of State earlier met with the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of China, H.E. Cui Tian-kai.
The Minister of State will have a bilateral meeting with the Italian Foreign Minister tomorrow.
For more information, contact:
Syed Haider Ali Jafri
Personal Secretary
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Government of Pakistan
Tel: +9251 921 0335 and 9056604