Pakistan, China discuss strategic cooperation, pace of projects

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday stressed the need to speed up the completion of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects at Gwadar, enabling the Gwadar Port to achieve its potential.

The foreign minister was talking to the newly-appointed Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong, who called on him here. Lauding his experience and strong credentials, he congratulated the ambassador on his appointment to Pakistan and hoped that Pak-China ties will further strengthen during his term.

During the meeting, Pakistan-China bilateral relations, cooperation in fighting COVID-19, CPEC and matters of regional and international interest were discussed. The Foreign Minister underlined that Pakistan and China were all-weather strategic cooperative partners and both countries supported each other on the issues of their core interest. He thanked China for its steadfast support to Pakistan on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, including at the United Nations.

The Foreign Minister maintained that CPEC was a transformational project and hoped that the Ambassador will fast track CPEC projects and promote industrialization in Pakistan. He emphasized that Pakistan and China should deepen and expand co-operation in the agriculture sector, providing opportunities for Pakistan to export its agricultural products to Chinese market.

The Foreign Minister hoped that the 10th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) will be fruitful and mutually beneficial and lead to inclusion of mega projects in CPEC. He also emphasized the importance Pakistan attached to the Main Line-One (ML-1) project. It was particularly underscored by the Foreign Minister that the leadership and people of Pakistan were looking forward to welcome President Xi Jinping, and that the 70th anniversary of establishment of Pakistan-China diplomatic relations must be celebrated in a befitting manner.

Ambassador Nong thanked the Foreign Minister for the good wishes conveyed by him and maintained that Pakistan was his second home. He emphasized that Pakistan-China relationship was anchor for peace, security and development in the region. He expressed determination that China would firmly support timely completion of CPEC, making it a high-quality demonstration project of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). He stressed that Pakistan and China should further deepen cooperation at the multilateral institutions to protect and promote their common interests.