Pakistan looks to China’s Governance Model for development, says Ishaq Dar

Islamabad: Pakistan is seeking to benefit from the governance practices and development experience of China’s Communist Party, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said highlighting the importance of stronger political and institutional cooperation between the two countries.

Dar made the remarks at a symposium held in Islamabad which he co-chaired with Chinese Minister Liu Haixing. According to a Foreign Office spokesperson the event focused on expanding cooperation between political parties and promoting exchanges on governance and institutional development.

The deputy prime minister praised China’s achievements in reducing poverty saying the country had lifted millions of people out of poverty and made a significant contribution to global poverty reduction.

He said China’s development had been supported by party discipline strong institutional capacity and a governance approach focused on public welfare. Pakistan he added wanted to learn from these experiences.

Dar noted that Pakistan and China were marking the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations while the Communist Party of China was celebrating its 105th founding anniversary. He described the relationship between the two countries as being built on mutual trust respect and cooperation.

He also said the Pakistan-China partnership played an important role in promoting peace and stability in the region and beyond. Referring to regional diplomatic efforts Dar highlighted a five-point initiative launched by Pakistan and China to help restore peace in the Middle East. He also described Chinese President’s four-point proposal for regional peace as an important development.

Dar stressed that stronger political party-to-party engagement was essential to further deepen bilateral ties. He called for greater political coordination to achieve the shared objectives of the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC 2.0).

He said Pakistan had proposed five political corridors aimed at encouraging dialogue improving governance engaging young people and strengthening people-to-people contacts.

The deputy prime minister further emphasised the need for continued exchanges between political parties saying both countries could benefit from sharing their experiences. He also underlined the importance of fighting corruption and improving transparency and accountability mechanisms.