Photo courtesy PID
Stressing the need to promote bilateral trade by improving exports and imports in diverse areas, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said that Pakistan wants investments from China, not handouts.
“Pakistan needs real support from our Chinese friends, not in terms of money, aid or handouts, but in terms of investment, trade and expertise,” he told the heads of leading Chinese companies and investors in Islamabad. He said that only through this support could Pakistan hope to meet all challenges, no matter how difficult, and proceed toward progress.
Emphasizing that the friendship between Pakistan and China was unwavering, having weathered storms and strengthened over time, he praised Beijing’s progress in various sectors, especially in lifting millions above the poverty level in the past three decades.
He said Pakistan was looking toward China for support in ensuring sustainable development, adding that Chinese development in the fields of industry, trade, information technology and agriculture was a “model” for Pakistan to emulate. The “trusted friendship” between the two countries could help facilitate this, he added.
Thanking the Chinese leadership, especially President Xi Jinping, for their unstinting support for Pakistan in the shape of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, he said that CPEC had helped Pakistan move toward prosperity. Recalling the start of the last decade, when electricity load-shedding was at its peak nationwide due to massive shortfalls, he said the power plant deals inked between then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif and the Chinese president as part of CPEC had helped overcome the issue by 2017.
The prime minister pledged to fully facilitate the Chinese investors in Pakistan and never to forget China’s cooperation for the country’s benefit.
Also on Monday, Bank of China-Pakistan Operations Country Head and CEO Wang Jie called on Finance Minister Miftah Ismail and briefed him on the bank’s portfolio. Welcoming the CEO, Ismail highlighted the deep economic and brotherly relations between Pakistan and China and lauded the Bank of China’s contribution toward the economic progress of the country. He also assured Wang of the incumbent government’s full support and cooperation. The country head appreciated the government’s support.
According to a statement issued by the Finance Division, Ismail and Wang also exchanged views on the current international and regional economic situation, with a focus on Pakistan’s economy and its policy to attract foreign direct investment. It said that CPEC was also discussed, with the meeting’s participants highlighting that the project would prove another milestone in cementing bilateral economic and fraternal relations between Pakistan and China and bringing prosperity for both countries.