Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday said that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project is a new milestone in 65 years of Sino-Pakistan relations.
He was addressing a seminar titled ‘Pakistan China Iron Brothers’ organised by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting at Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) in Islamabad on Tuesday.
He said this project has brought Pak-China relations from a geo-strategic orbit to geo-economic orbit – the element which was ignored in the past. He said this is not just a bilateral project, but three billion people of the region will accrue benefits from it. He said the project in fact has added a new chapter in the relations between the two countries. Over the last three years, China has become the leading country in terms of direct foreign investment in Pakistan.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid said CPEC is the project of peace and development.
Pervaiz Rashid said that the construction of ports and road infrastructure in the region will bring the people closer to each other. Therefore, he said besides the development of Gwadar, Pakistan also welcomes the establishment of other ports in the region. He said these mega projects will steer the region out of poverty and backwardness, and bring prosperity in the lives of the people.
Giving a brief outlook of Pakistan-China historic relations, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary said the two sides have developed a robust and flexible roadmap for multifaceted cooperation over the last few years.
He said the leaders of both the countries over the last three years have made strenuous efforts to take the relationship to new heights. He said CPEC project is a clear manifestation of growing relations between the two countries. Bilateral trade, people-to-people contacts and defense cooperation between the two countries has increased during the last three years.
He said both the countries have stood by each other through thick and thin. He said China supported Pakistan in the wars of 1965 and 1971, while Pakistan supported rapprochement efforts between China and the United States.
In his remarks, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Sun Weidong said that relations between the two countries have grown from strength to strength over the past 65 years. “We regard each other as equal partners and reliable friends,” he said and added that the two countries respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The ambassador said the two countries have always extended a helping hand to each other in testing times, and they maintain close collaboration on important regional and international issues.
Weidong said Pak-China relations have been promoted to all weather strategic partnership, which provides new prospects and opportunities to take the relationships to new heights.