By IANS,
Boao (China) : Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari Saturday said his country needed more international support in combating terrorism, which he described as being more serious than the global economic slowdown.
“Help us, help the region, in the fight against terrorism,” Zardari said while addressing the annual Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in this southern Chinese city in Hainan province.
Zardari, who succeeded in getting pledges of over $5 billion in aid from the international community Friday, stressed that the world needed to stand together to fight terrorism.
“I feel that all of us . . . all of you should stand together and check everything which threatens the world economy,” APP news agency quoted Zardari as saying at the conference.
The Pakistani leader said terrorism was another serious issue haunting the world peace apart from the present global economic crisis.
He termed the global recession as an aftermath of 9/11 and said the issue of terrorism was affecting the region, particularly Afghanistan and Pakistan.
With the financial crisis looming, “there is another scene damping the hopes of the world”, he said, adding: “The issue in the region is terrorism, that is evolving around Pakistan and Afghanistan.”
The BFA was established in 2001 as a platform for high-level interaction between leaders from Asia and around the world to promote the development goals of Asian countries through greater regional economic integration.
During the BFA meeting, the delegates, who include several world leaders, will debate and discuss the impact of the global economic crisis on Asia and how the region can effectively weather these.