Pakistani Prime Minister ShaukatAziz Monday said Pakistan would not allow domination of the IndianOcean by any country, the official Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

"We will oppose domination of Indian Ocean by any country," theprime minister said at a Pakistan Navy's ceremony in the southern port city of Karachi.

Aziz said that Pakistan had no aggressive design against any one while being alive to defensive needs to protect integrity of the country.

He said Pakistan has a long coastline and enormous maritime potential which has been remained neglected for the past many years.

Development of Gwadar deep-water port is a manifestation of "our resolve" to accord priority to maritime matters in order to harness the tremendous economic potential, said the prime minister.

Aziz said: "Our vision is to develop Gwadar as a major transshipment port, thereby, making it a regional hub port, providing outlet to the land-locked central Asian republics, as well as Afghanistan and western China for their trade".

However, to realize the true potential of Gwadar, maritime security in the region is imperative, he said.

On its part, the Government would do whatever it could within its available resources to enable the Navy to maintain and sustainthe sanctity of the coastline and to face all challenges, he said.

Source: Xinhua