Daily Times

Islamabad: Special Communication Organization (SCO) and Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) have signed an agreement to provide connectivity between China and major international destinations transiting through Pakistan.

The signing ceremony was held at Pak-China Friendship Center during the inauguration of Pakistan-China Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) laid by SCO. Honorable Prime Minister of Pakistan Justice (Retd.) NasirulMulk, Major General Amir Azeem Bajwa, Director General, SCO, HI (M), Dr. Daniel Ritz, President & CEO, PTCL, Yao Jing, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Deng Xiao Feng, CEO, China Telecom Global Limited and other dignitaries attended the prestigious ceremony. SCOs Pakistan-China OFC is 820-kilometre-long stretching from Rawalpindi to Khunjerab establishing new cross border connectivity with China and is part of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project led by Government of Pakistan and China.

Col. Waseem Ahmad (Retd.), Director Pak-China OFC SCO and Adil Rashid, Chief Business Services Officer, PTCL signed SCO and PTCL agreement. As part of this agreement, SCO shall provide capacities on its OFC network between Pak-China Khunjrab border and Rawalpindi, whereas PTCL shall provide connectivity from Rawalpindi to major international destinations through Karachi and Gwadar using its long-haul network infrastructure and PTCL submarine cable network.

On the occasion, Dr. Daniel Ritz, President & CEO, PTCL said, “PTCL has been connecting the nation since 1947 and we are glad to be part of this important initiative creating a positive regional impact. With the signing of Pakistan-China Optical Fiber Cable agreement, PTCL will contribute further to the economic development and prosperity of Pakistan.”

Major General Amir Azeem Bajwa, Director General, SCO, also sharing his views, expressed that “Pakistan & China have a long history of friendship and brotherhood. We are happy to see that we have taken this major step to further strengthen our relationship by connecting the world through our respective countries.”

SCO and PTCL collaboration will allow Chinese Carriers to connect to neighboring countries including Iran and Afghanistan through terrestrial OFC link and major African and European destinations through PTCL submarine cables infrastructure.

Published in Daily Times, July 14^th 2018.