A signing ceremony of letter of exchange for installation of solar power generation system between governments of Pakistan and China was held Wednesday at Parliament House.
The ceremony was attended by National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Minister for Finance and Revenue Ishaq Dar, Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong, parliamentarians and seniors officers of National Assembly Secretariat, Finance and Economic Affair Divisions and Chinese Embassy.
The NA speaker in his opening remarks said that Pakistani and Chinese political leadership were determined to further strengthen all-weather and time-tested Pak-Chinese friendship known to the world. He said that establishment of solar power generation system by the Chinese government was a continuation of that resolve and would add a new chapter to the existing relations between Pakistan and China.
He praised the commitment and untiring efforts of Chinese ambassador for his personal indulgence in that regard. He said that Parliament of Pakistan would hold the distinction of being the first parliament in the world to go green. He stressed the need for replicating the model in other government building to address the prevalent energy constraint.
Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar in his remarks commended the Chinese government for its assistance in economic, energy, communication and infrastructure development sectors. He informed the audience about the Chinese financial assistance for the Persons temporarily displaced due to natural calamities and insurgency in Pakistan.
He said that Chinese leadership has always been visionary and guided the Chinese economy to attain the remarkable level. He said that Pakistan and China were the prospective members for establishment of Asian Infrastructure Development Bank to accelerate the pace of infrastructure development in Asia. He also thanked the Chinese government and ambassador for his personal efforts for solarization of Parliament building.
Ambassador of China Sun Weidong in his address thanked the speaker and the minister for finance for their kind words. He said that president and prime minister of China place considerable importance on the maintenance of an extremely close and supportive relationship between China and Pakistan. He said that China-Pak friendship was all-weather and Partnership was excellent known to the world. He said that solar power generation system for the parliament of Pakistan would be a gift from China for which initial feasibility has been carried out and work on the project will be initiated soon and completed within shortest possible period. He further informed the audience about the Chinese assistance of $10 million for Temporarily Displaced Persons. He expressed his government’s resolve for its unwavering support to Pakistan in future as well.