ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of China to Pakistan Yao Jing on Monday said integrated cooperation between the two countries in the fields of media and culture could play crucial role in successful implementation of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.
Addressing the 3rd CPEC forum, the newly appointed Chinese envoy in Islamabad said CPEC has become an important element of Pak-China friendship and its success would be greatly depending upon dissemination of positive news regarding the corridor by media persons from both countries.
The forum was organised by Pakistan-China Institute in collaboration with Chinese Embassy in Pakistan.
The event aimed at focusing on promoting information and cultural corridor through the media to support and supplement CPEC projects.
Yao Jing said CPEC is not only meant for a strategy to boost cooperation between the two countries but it would also play an important role in bringing prosperity and socio-economic development of the entire region.
Chairman, Parliamentary Committee on CPEC, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed said the Belt and Road initiative by China was the most important project of 21st century which would connect over 65 countries from Africa, Asia, Middle East and Europe.
He said CPEC was the flagship project of Belt and Road initiative and it has become a symbol of national unity within Pakistan.
The media forum, he said would help enhancing cooperation and contacts in information and cultural sectors of the two countries.
Senator Abdul Qayum said under CPEC, the two countries had entered a new era of bilateral coordination in a range of various sectors including social, economy, and culture.
Presenting a detailed briefing, Project Director of CPEC in ministry of Planning and Development, Hassan Daud Butt said the CPEC was the most actively pursued project of One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative.
He said the project had now become a reality and some of its early harvest projects had been completed. He added that various routes under CPEC would be completed by 2019.
He said besides implementation of a number of projects in infrastructure, energy, railways sectors under CPEC, the two countries were also focusing enhancing people to people contacts by exchanging of educational and media delegations.
He informed that after CPEC the country’s economic growth had risen by 2-3 per cent while energy crisis had also subsided after completion of some energy projects under the corridor.
President of CPEC Media Forum, Hafiz Tahir Khalil said purpose of establishing the forum was to keep the people of both countries updated regarding the mega project of CPEC.
He said journalists from both countries should promote the positive aspects of the Corridor and they should also play their due role for countering the negative propaganda being propagated by the neighbouring country.
He said besides journalists from Pakistan and China, the international journalists should also become part of this forum, as CPEC’s benefits were not limited to only the two countries.
Senator Afrasiyab Khatak proposed to launch departments in universities of the two countries in a bid to study each other’s history, culture and to further promote bilateral relations. He said “we need to have good neighbouring relations especially with Iran and Afghanistan to further promote regional connectivity”.
Professor Li Xiguant from Tsinghua University Beijing said Indian media was trying to propagate negative perception about CPEC by making it a controversial project.
Published in Daily Times, November 28th 2017.