Daily Times

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Tuesday invited China to invest in solar parks to support Pakistan’s fight against climate change and help reduce Pakistan’s energy import bill.

Addressing a conference in China, PM Kakar said investments in solar parks would benefit two-fold, explaining that “on one hand they will support Pakistan’s endeavours to climate action and also help reduce energy import bill”.

The prime minister expressed Pakistan’s desire to learn from China’s models for building industrial parks and special economic zones.

He highlighted that China and Pakistan enjoyed a time-tested relationship based on mutual trust and shared interests. “Despite international politics, our friendship has remained steadfast.”

The interim premier emphasised that there was no bilateral relation more important for Pakistan than its friendship with China.

“This special relation enjoys across-the-board national consensus in Pakistan,” he said. “There should be no doubt that Pakistan would undermine our unique affection for China.”

Terming CPEC the manifestation of Pak-China strategic cooperation, Kakar said the project symbolises coordinated efforts of the two countries to bring their economic and trade ties at par with each other.

The project also symbolises the two countries’ excellent political relations, he added.

“For Pakistan, CPEC is a transformative project central to advancing our national agenda to sustainable development,” the prime minister continued, adding that the geoeconomic landscape of the country – from Gilgit-Baltistan to the deep sea ports of Karachi and Gwadar – was transformed in the last few years due to CPEC.

Kakar said the infrastructure of the country was upgraded and the potential of the large youth population was unleashed due to CPEC.

“It is already proving to be a catalyst for job creation, poverty alleviation, and rural revitalisation giving strength to the vulnerable and underprivileged apart from reaching the remote sections of society,” he added.

“I myself come from Balochistan, an underdeveloped province of Pakistan, and generally believe that CPEC is a beacon of development, progress, and prosperity for the people of my province.” Explaining that CPEC was a symbol of Pak-China strategic trust, interim PM Kakar said Pakistan was seeking to create new drives of growth that would benefit the wider region and beyond.

He announced that Pakistan was open to “drawing new partners who wish to join us in availing benefits from CPEC”. “Since the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Pakistan, Pakistan has added 800km of roads and motorways into our network injecting more than 8000MW of energy and generating more than 2,000 new jobs for our people,” Kakar said.

The caretaker prime minister expressed that the next phase of CPEC should seek a deeper integration of “our economies with a focus on diversification and innovation”. Concluding his talk, PM Kakar deemed skill development and vocational training programs critical for the success of CPEC. Later in the evening, the prime minister attended a state banquet, hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping for world leaders participating in the 3rd Belt and Road Forum. In a post on X (erstwhile Twitter), the premier said he received an “incredibly warm welcome” from President Xi Jinping and First Lady Peng Liyuan.

PM Kakar was accompanied by senior ministers of his cabinet, the PM Office (PMO) said in a press release. Held at the iconic Great Hall of the Peoples, the banquet was attended by the heads of state/government of Russia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mongolia, Hungary, Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Papua New Guinea, Mozambique and Chile, among several other world leaders.

During the gathering, PM Kakar held informal interactions with the world leaders attending the event.