President Dr. Arif Alvi has called for enhanced Chinese investment in various sectors of Pakistan’s economy, particularly in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to further strengthen bilateral economic cooperation.
While talking to the Special Representative of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and the Vice-Premier of the State Council of China He Lifeng, who along with members of his delegation called on him at Aiwan-e-Sadr today, the president said Pakistan was desirous of Chinese cooperation and support to strengthen its agriculture, Information Technology (IT), Transport, and Textile sectors.
Welcoming the delegation, he highlighted that Pakistan and China enjoyed an all-weather strategic cooperative partnership and always stood by each other in difficult times. He added that Pakistan and China had a unique relationship and the world must learn from the time-tested friendship between the two brotherly countries. He appreciated that bilateral relations between the two countries had continued to expand to new areas of cooperation.
Talking about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the president said that CPEC would transform the economic landscape of Pakistan, besides bringing prosperity to the region. He said that CPEC had considerably helped in overcoming the shortage of electricity in Pakistan. He maintained that Pakistan would continue to extend firm support to China on all its core issues.
The president expressed gratitude for China’s principled stance on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, apart from thanking the Chinese government for providing financial support to Pakistan in difficult times. He congratulated the vice-premier on the conferment of the award of Hilal-e-Pakistan on him and appreciated his contributions towards promoting Pak-China friendship and successfully overseeing the implementation of CPEC projects.
Conveying his gratitude to the president, the Chinese vice-premier recalled President Dr. Alvi’s solidarity visit to China in March 2020, saying that the visit would be remembered by the people of China as he undertook it during a difficult time despite the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He noted with delight that CPEC had brought significant transformation in Pakistan’s socio-economic and infrastructural landscape and was now poised to further enhance Pakistan’s economic, trade, and connectivity profile in the entire region and beyond.
The vice-premier apprised the president of the measures taken by the Chinese government for the elimination of poverty in China. He thanked the president for the conferment of Hilal-e-Pakistan upon him in recognition of his services. He also conveyed the best wishes of Chinese President Xi to President Alvi.
