This photo taken on March 21, 2023 shows the view of Thar Coal Block-I Coal Electricity Integration project in Sindh province, Pakistan. [Photo/Xinhua]

ISLAMABAD -- The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) aligns naturally with the goals of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) for regional connectivity and trade promotion, a former Pakistani diplomat Babar Amin said here on Friday.

Addressing a seminar titled "SCO: Pakistan's Policy Priorities and Opportunities," Amin, former ambassador of Pakistan to Norway, noted that Pakistan can act as a natural partner with SCO for promoting connectivity, trade, and economic cooperation in the region.

Pakistan also seeks to enhance non-traditional security cooperation through the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure mechanism within the SCO, fostering collaboration on defense and security matters, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Director General of the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad Sohail Mahmood underscored the significance of SCO as a trans-regional platform.

The organization continues to carry the 'Shanghai Spirit' of mutual trust, equality, respect for diversity, and pursuit of common development, as opposed to any zero-sum perspectives or notions of geopolitical confrontation or civilizational clash, according to Mahmood.

Launched in 2013, CPEC, a flagship project under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, is a corridor linking Pakistan's southwest Gwadar port with Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, highlighting energy, transport, and industrial cooperation.

Pakistan joined the SCO in 2017.