Daily Times

Pakistan Ambassador to China, Naghmana Hashmi has said that a number of mechanisms have been established to complete all projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) within the prescribed timeframe in order to achieve the desired goals.

“This is a transformative project that, through a radical overhaul of Pakistan’s energy and infrastructure, has laid a solid foundation for our future socio-economic development and has produced tangible results on the ground,” she said in an interview to Chinese media outlet.

Ambassador Hashmi remarked that the CPEC is the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative.

During the high-level exchanges between the leaders of Pakistan and China, the two sides agreed that the focus of the second phase of the CPEC is to complete all projects under construction in a timely manner and continue to realize their full potential for socio-economic development, job creation, improvement of people’s livelihood, accelerated industrial development, industrial parks and cooperation in the agricultural fields, she said.

“We are confident that all projects in the CPEC will be completed in a timely manner to achieve the desired goals and set a new example for international cooperation based on common interests, common goals and common future,” she said.

About Gwadar, she said that as an important node of the CPEC, it is receiving increasing attention because of its trade potential. The two countries have completed a series of projects in Gwadar, including port construction, electricity projects, hospitals, educational institutions and clean and green development in neighbouring areas, while many others are at different stages of completion.

Ambassador Hashmi said that both countries are currently working on a series of projects aimed at improving the socio-economic status of the Pakistani people.

The successful conclusion of the second phase of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (FTA) opened a new window for the doubling of bilateral trade volume between the all-weather friends and strategic cooperative partners.

“We should deepen practical cooperation in agriculture, forestry, poverty alleviation, tourism, national governance systems and finance,” she added.

Pakistani government is developing policies to attract the Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in these areas in order to achieve strong, inclusive and sustainable growth.

“We also hope to deepen people-to-people exchanges and educational exchanges in the new era, continue to enrich the ancient cultural ties and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results,” she added.

On the establishment of sustainable plant pest control and management mechanism, she said that in Pakistan, locust plague has become a serious problem, because at a time when food supplies are important, locust plagues could exacerbate food security problems. “Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy, and locust plagues can pose serious challenges to our economic well-being,” she added.