Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that China-Pakistan ties will get stronger in the future because of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
“[The] CPEC is not just going to connect us… [it is] not just about road connectivity, but about cooperation, industrialization, agriculture and tourism, so the relationship between the two countries will just get closer and stronger,” the prime minister said in an interview with Global Times during his four-day visit to China.
About potential development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in the current year, the prime minister said that the first phase of the CPEC was connectivity. As the CPEC moved into the second phase, it means special economic industrial zones and agriculture, which is Pakistan’s backbone.
“We expect China to help us increase our productivity in agriculture. We are inviting Chinese companies to come to special technology zones and operate these zones. Apart from that, tourism is going to be the future because of interaction between people of the two countries,” he added.
Responding to a question, the prime minister said that Pakistan and China saw each other as iron brothers. “It’s the people-to-people relationship. When you have people-to-people relationship, it means governments can come and go, but the relationship will always stay because it’s embedded in the people of the two countries,” he added.
About the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, PM Khan said that holding the Olympics during the pandemic was one of the most difficult things to do. “The only way that a country could do it was that it must have incredible discipline.”
Regarding collaboration and exchanges between Pakistan and China in winter sports, he said there was no tradition of winter sports in Pakistan.
“Now we are paying attention to winter sports for the first time”, he added.
“We have high mountains with great skiing slopes. Skardu is right in the northern areas with an international airport. So now, we will have people coming from all over the world,” he added.
About achievements of the Communist Party of China (CPC), he opined that the CPC had achieved the greatest achievements in the history of mankind.
“The CPC had lifted more than 700 million people out of poverty in the last 30 to 40 years. Last year, President Xi announced the end of extreme poverty in China. There could be no greater achievement than this. This had to be the greatest achievement of any civilization.
“This is where, certainly we in Pakistan, want to learn from China. We’re already learning… we are trying to follow the Chinese model. How do we get people out of poverty? For me, the biggest challenge for a government is to take care of the people who are at the bottom of the social structure. Civilizations are not judged by how the rich people live, it’s how the poor people live.”
He also appreciated the way China had tackled the coronavirus pandemic. “In the United States, Europe and other countries, there were demonstrations against restrictions and lockdowns. But in China, there was discipline as the people believed in the government.”
Separately, the prime minister said on Monday that illicit financial flows from developing countries to the developed nations deplete resources of the former and that the phenomenon also manifests itself in creating issues like illegal migration.
The premier was talking to Minister for Migration and Asylum of Hellenic Republic (Greece) Panagiotis Mitarachi, who called on him along with his accompanying delegation.
The prime minister said that while stemming illicit financial flows, ways should also be discovered to establish pathways to legal migration. In this context, he appreciated Greece’s initiative of establishing legal migration channels which would open avenues for Pakistani skilled labour.
He underlined the importance Pakistan attached to its cooperative ties with Greece and stressed the need for increased collaboration in diverse fields, including migration.
Imran also underlined the urgency of addressing the dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and preventing an economic meltdown.
He said it is imperative to release frozen Afghan assets to alleviate sufferings of 40 million Afghan people, as it would help build a sustainable Afghan economy and prevent a mass exodus of Afghans to other countries.
Reciprocating, Mitarachi highlighted the importance of Greece-Pakistan relations and regular bilateral exchanges.
While conveying cordial greetings to the prime minister of the Hellenic Republic, he also conveyed his invitation to the prime minister to visit Greece.
Pakistan and the Hellenic Republic enjoy friendly relations, with a strong Pakistani diaspora of more than 60,000.
