BEIJING: Pakistan has consistently appreciated and strongly supported the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and was willing to learn from the development experience of China, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said talking to the Chinese media on Wednesday.
PM Kakar, who was invited to attend the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, said that Pakistan valued the great vision embodied in the BRI, which advocated bringing peace and prosperity through economic growth and development.
The Pakistani delegation, comprising top-level officials from the security, economic, industrial, and other departments, was eagerly anticipating bilateral discussions with Chinese officials during the trip, engaging in dialogue and interaction with Chinese media and think tanks as well, he said.
Emphasizing the important accomplishments of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), an exemplary project of the BRI, the prime minister said the CPEC has brought great development and bright prospects to his hometown of southwest Balochistan province.
Started in 2013, the CPEC is a corridor linking the Gwadar port in southwestern Pakistan with Kashgar in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which underlines transport, energy, and industrial cooperation.
Pakistan-China coordination
Noting that Pakistan would further strengthen coordination and policy communication with China in the new phase of high-quality development of the CPEC, the PM said Islamabad would introduce new technologies in sectors such as food security and agriculture from China, encourage enterprises to further expand trade and tap bilateral cooperation potential with China.
He said that Pakistan will further improve the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) in a bid to encourage and facilitate Chinese enterprises to invest in sectors such as agriculture, mining, and information technology and foster favorable conditions for Chinese businesses operating in Pakistan.
The PM also emphasized that Islamabad places high importance on the safety of Chinese nationals in Pakistan and is willing to further improve security mechanisms for them, making every effort to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals and institutions in Pakistan.
Expressing his hope for the two peoples to deepen their understanding of each other’s language and culture as well as further strengthen the friendly ties, the PM said that Pakistan cherishes the ironclad friendship with China and believes that cooperation with Beijing is full of opportunities.
