ISLAMABAD:
Ahead of the anticipated visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Pakistan, officials from both countries discussed bilateral economic cooperation.
Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar discussed broader contours of the president’s high-profile visit. Both sides are expected to sign agreements to implement projects in the energy and infrastructure sectors with Chinese assistance.
However, neither Pakistan nor China have yet officially announced the visit of the Chinese President. The foreign office has also not convened the inter-ministerial meeting to finalise the possible areas of cooperation during the upcoming visit, according to an official of the Board of Investment.
The Chinese ambassador said that Pakistan-China Economic Corridor was moving ahead smoothly and the third round of Pakistan-China Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) was currently going on successfully. He said mega projects in the energy and infrastructure sectors with the help of the Chinese would bring development and economic progress to Pakistan.
Under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Beijing has recently announced providing financial assistance for 14 energy projects and four mega infrastructure projects including Karakorum Highway Phase-II, development of Gwadar Port, Lahore-Karachi Motorway and Orange Line Metro Project in Lahore.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Wednesday that an agreement has been reached with China on the construction of Lahore-Karachi Motorway.
The ambassador said that China has no agenda other than cooperation in development and economic progress of Pakistan, according to a handout issued by the Ministry of Finance.
The finance minister said that political leadership of both countries has a common vision and spoke of the robust economic cooperation, reducing differences between the two countries and regional connectivity.
Dar said that the economic corridor will reduce transportation cost between Pakistan and China and enhance trade and investment for great future of this region.
He hoped that projects in the pipeline will be completed on time. He also informed the ambassador that political leadership in Pakistan is looking forward to welcoming Chinese president’s visit and hoped that the visit will usher in a new era of progress and development.
According to political analysts, the Chinese president’s anticipated visit to Pakistan will be seen as critical support to the government at a time when it is facing challenges on the domestic front.
The PML-N government has been claiming that the Pakistani PM’s decision to first go to China after taking oath was not liked by western powers.
While speaking at state-run TV, the party’s senior leader Senator Mushahidullah Khan claimed that the recent political turmoil has its roots in the PM’s decision to visit Beijing first instead of going to Washington.
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