ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Wednesday that the 21st century was an era of multiple power centres, renewed economic interdependencies and realignment of politico-strategic alliances.

Addressing a conference on international security in Moscow, he said the Kashmir issue was a strategic flashpoint in South Asia and, if left unresolved, it had the potential to threaten the stability and peace of the entire region.

A press statement said that the minister stressed the importance of the conference to manage shared challenges, including terrorism, socio-economic equality, climate change, demography and the ongoing conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan and North Africa. He thanked the Russian defence ministry for hosting the conference.

The defence ministers of Iran, Brazil and India also spoke on the occasion.

An announcement by Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei said that Iranian Defence Minister Brig Gen Hossein Dehghan was slated to hold talks with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.

A trilateral meeting of the Iranian and Russian leaders with Syrian Defence Minister Gen Fahd Jassem al Freij is also planned.

The 6th Moscow Conference on International Security, which will continue on Thursday, focuses on the most critical problems of global and regional security.

The plenary sessions looked closely at combating security problems in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region and the role of defence agencies.

Counterterrorism and counter-radicalism in the Middle East, security of the information space, ballistic missile defence implications and security in Central Asia are also in the spotlight for separate discussion sessions at the forum.-APP