ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stated that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’s (CPEC) second phase will be undertaken under a new model.
Speaking after the signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Pakistan and China, the prime minister said on the completion of 10 years of the CPEC, he was grateful for the visit of Chinese Deputy Prime Minister He Lifeng to Pakistan.
The PM said he had no doubt that “we are entering the second phase of CPEC, today and we have signed some important documents which will further enhance our economic cooperation and will undertake [the] second phase of CPEC under a new model”.
China’s He to mark 10th anniversary of CPEC
He said it would be between B2B, as well as investment in agriculture, in information technology for that Pakistan through Chinese cooperation and support was able to export its items according to the requirement and the standard of Chinese government.
The PM added that Pakistan was ready to contribute to Chinese president’s vision of a shared destiny, progress and prosperity and ML-I was a very important project, Karachi circular was a very important project, and expressed the hope that together in time to come those projects and many others would be successfully completed.
The premier said the CPEC was signed 10 years ago between former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and former Chinese president Xi Jinping and immediately its implementation was started.
He said “thanks to this agreement, today we can say that more than $25 billion has been invested in the energy, road, infrastructure, public transport, and hydel power sectors in Pakistan.”
He said he was grateful to Xi Jinping for sending the Deputy Prime Minister of China as a special ambassador to Pakistan. “This will send a message to the world that China and Pakistan are linked in a relationship that is unique in the world. We are all-weather friends, iron brothers, and this friendship will continue and will not tolerate any obstacle in its way.”
Before the prime minister’s address at the ceremony, MoUs were signed between China and Pakistan.
Earlier, China’s Vice Premier and member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Lifeng met Shehbaz Sharif after arriving in Pakistan to attend the ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the CPEC. He reached the Prime Minister’s House where he was warmly welcomed.
Prime Minister Sharif said in a statement on Twitter that Chinese vice-premier had arrived in Pakistan to attend the ceremony to mark the completion of 10 years of CPEC and to witness the changes brought about by that game-changing initiative. It is my pleasure to warmly welcome the Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng and members of his delegation to Pakistan. They are visiting Pakistan to join us in celebrating the 10th anniversary of CPEC and witnessing first-hand the transformations brought about by this game-changing initiative.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023