Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will be carried out under the new model.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng attended the signing ceremony of different agreements.
Addressing the ceremony, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said “on the completion of 10 years of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), I am grateful to Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng for his visit to Pakistan.”
He said that the CPEC agreement was signed between former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former Chinese President Xi Jinping 10 years ago and its implementation started before its ink dried up.
He said that due to this agreement, today we can say that more than $25 billion investment has come in the Energy, Road, Infrastructure, Public Transport and Hydel Power Sector in Pakistan.
The Prime Minister said that he has no doubt that we are entering the second phase of CPEC, today we have signed some important documents which will lead to further increase in economic cooperation between the two countries.
He said. “We will take forward the second phase of CPEC under the new model, it will focus on business to business, investment, agriculture and IT so that Pakistan can export its products according to the standards and requirements of the Chinese government with the cooperation of China.”
Shehbaz Sharif also said that he was grateful to Xi Jinping for sending the Vice Premier of China as special ambassador to Pakistan. He said that it will send a message to the world that China and Pakistan are connected in a relationship that is unique in the world.
He further said that the friendship between Pakistan and China will always remain and we will not tolerate any obstacle in it.
Six Agreements and MoUs signed:
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between China and Pakistan ahead of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s address at a ceremony held at the Prime Minister’s House.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar, Federal Minister for Finance and Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Federal Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah Khan, Federal Minister for Aviation and Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique, Federal Minister for Food Security Tariq Bashir Cheema and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi were also present on the occasion.
On this occasion, Pakistan and China signed six agreements and Memorandums of Understanding to promote bilateral cooperation.
According to the report of Radio Pakistan, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal and Vice Chairman of China’s National Development and Reform Commission signed the document of the Joint Cooperation Committee of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The second document signed was on the establishment of an expert exchange mechanism within the framework of CPEC.
The third document, signed by Zafar Hassan, Secretary, Ministry of National Food Security and Chinese Charge d’Affaires, on the export of dry chilies from Pakistan to China.
The fourth document was signed by National Highway Authority Member Planning Asim Amin and Chinese Charge d’Affaires regarding the ‘feasibility study’ of the Karakoram Highway Phase 2 project.
The two sides also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the exchange of industrial workers through diplomatic channels, as well as to promote the strategic ML-1 project.
Earlier, Chinese Vice Premier and Communist Party’s Central Committee member He Lifeng arrived in Pakistan to meet Shahbaz Sharif after arriving in Pakistan to attend the 10th anniversary celebrations of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), where he was warmly welcomed.
