Daily Times

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Friday reaffirmed that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a transformational project and its completion is top priority of the current government.

While talking to Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing here, Qureshi said both sides are working closely to further deepen cooperation during CPEC’s second phase which will have far-reaching impact on Pakistan’s industrial, agriculture, health, and socio-economic development sectors. He said Pakistan and China are all-weather strategic cooperative partners who have preserved the tradition of standing by each other through thick and thin. The foreign minister particularly thanked China for extending solidarity and moral and material support to Pakistan in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak. He underscored that the large amounts of personal protective equipment and medical equipment sent by Beijing have significantly strengthened Pakistan’s capacity to control the Covid-19 outbreak. He also expressed deep gratitude to the Chinese leadership for sending a team of medical experts to Pakistan to assist health community to contain the pandemic. Ambassador Yao Jing said China is Pakistan’s close friend and a steadfast partner.

He said Pakistan extended valuable support in China’s fight against outbreak of the virus. He recalled that President Dr Arif Alvi’s visit to Beijing in March was an expression of tremendous solidarity with the Chinese people which helped further cement the bilateral relations. He said China will continue to strengthen Pakistan’s capacity to fight the pandemic. Separately, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing called on Adviser to PM on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh here at the Finance Division on Friday. During the meeting, both sides discussed matters of mutual concern and decided to further strengthen bilateral collaborations.