Daily Times

Pakistan and China on Wednesday agreed to further strengthen high-level dialogue and engagement besides deepening the political, economic, education, science & technology, cultural, and people-to-people relations.

The bilateral ties were discussed in a bilateral meeting between Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Kakar and Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of Third Belt and Road Forum (BRF).

Accompanied by the ministers and senior officials, the two leaders reaffirmed the time-tested and iron-clad friendship between Pakistan and China.

Prime Minister Kakar extended felicitations to the Chinese leadership on the successful holding of the Third Belt and Road Forum (BRF).

Noting the depth and breadth of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the prime minister termed it as a project of immense significance for the world in terms of connectivity and shared prosperity.

The two leaders discussed bilateral collaboration in the context of CPEC and prospects of further deepening economic linkages.

Prime Minister Kakar underscored the importance of CPEC for Pakistan’s economy and noted with satisfaction its expansion into new areas of development – including industrial development; livelihood projects; ICT; mining and minerals exploration and agriculture.

He expressed the confidence that Chinese investment in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) will contribute in diversification of Pakistan’s export basket and expansion of its industrial base.

Premier Li Qiang underlined the steady growth of bilateral cooperation and noted the positive momentum of CPEC projects. He hoped that leadership consensus would give further boost to trade and economic relations between the two countries.

The two prime ministers also witnessed the signing ceremony in which several MoUs/Agreements were signed in areas of commerce, communication and transport including MLI, connectivity food security & research, media exchanges, space cooperation, urban sustainable development, capacity building, mineral development and industrial cooperation, climate change, vaccine development.

Pakistan has consistently expressed great appreciation and strong support for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and was willing to learn from China’s development experience, Caretaker Prime Minister,Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said talking to the Chinese media.

Kakar, who was invited to attend the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, said that the Pakistanis valued the great vision embodied in the BRI, which advocated bringing peace and prosperity through economic development.

The Pakistani delegation, comprising top-level officials from the economic, industrial, security, and other departments, was eagerly anticipating bilateral discussions with Chinese officials during the visit, engaging in dialogue and interaction with Chinese think tanks and media as well, he said.

Emphasizing the significant accomplishments of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), an exemplary project of the BRI, Kakar said the CPEC has brought great development and bright prospects to his hometown of southwest Balochistan province.

Launched in 2013, the CPEC was a corridor linking the Gwadar port in southwestern Pakistan with Kashgar in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport and industrial cooperation.

Noting that Pakistan would further strengthen policy communication and coordination with China in the new phase of high-quality development of the CPEC, Kakar said his country would introduce new technologies in fields such as food security and agriculture from China, encourage enterprises to expand trade and further tap bilateral cooperation potential with China.

Pakistan will further improve the Special Investment Facilitation Council in a bid to encourage and facilitate Chinese enterprises to invest in sectors such as mining, agriculture and information technology, and create favorable conditions for Chinese businesses operating in Pakistan, he said.

Kakar also emphasized that Pakistan places high importance on the safety of Chinese citizens in Pakistan and is willing to further improve security mechanisms for Chinese citizens, making every effort to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens and institutions in Pakistan.

Expressing his hope for the two peoples to increase their understanding of each other’s language and culture and further strengthen the friendly relations, he said that Pakistan cherishes the ironclad friendship with China and believes that cooperation with China is full of opportunities. Pakistan would learn from China’s achievements in reform and opening up as well as experience in poverty alleviation, research and development, information technology, agriculture and other areas, Kakar said, vowing to deepen the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership with China.

When speaking of the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by Xi, Kakar commended them as a driving force and mechanism for addressing the complex global challenges and underlying issues that the world faces today.