Punjab Shandong Business Conference was held on Wednesday in the Chinese city of Jinan, capital of Shandong province. Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Vice Governor of Shandong province Ji Xiang Qi jointly presided over the conference.
Vice Governor of Shandong province Ji Xiang Qi while speaking on the occasion, warmly welcomed Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his delegation on behalf of senior leadership of China. He said that Shandong and Punjab will add a new chapter to development cooperation. He said that Chinese leadership has given instructions for extending full cooperation to Punjab and all out efforts will be made in this regard. He said that Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has furthered Pak-China relations in the real sense.
The chief minister while addressing the business conference, said that investors and industrialists of Pakistan and China have come together at an important juncture of history as work has been started on implementation of splendid investment package of 46 billion dollars by China.
He said that the projects being executed under this historic package are not limited to any particular area but are spread all over Pakistan. He said that thousands of agreements are signed all over the world daily but how many of them are implemented is a big question. He said that pace of implementation of agreements under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is unprecedented.
He said that half of the work has been completed on 1320 megawatts coal power plant in Sahiwal which was started in June 2015 and this project will be completed in less than two years. He said that he has seen coal power plant set up in Talwandi, India with the cooperation of China, which was completed in four and a half years. He said that there is no doubt that Chinese companies also earn profit but the speed of implementation of these projects is a miracle of Pak-China friendship.
The chief minister during the conference invited senior officers of Chinese companies working in Pakistan especially Punjab to come to the stage and share their experiences with others, frankly and honestly in Chinese language. He requested Chinese investors and industrialists to listen to them and take decision immediately. The Chinese investors said that their experience of working in Pakistan especially Punjab has been excellent and they were provided all necessary facilities on priority basis.
They said that Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, his team, politicians and bureaucrats extended them all out cooperation, and added that Punjab is a very attractive province for Chinese investors and splendid measures have also been taken by Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif for security of Chinese nationals.
Prominent industrialist and businessman Mian Muhammad Mansha said that there is a very favorable atmosphere for Chinese investors in Pakistan especially Punjab. He said that Chinese traders can benefit from the GSP Plus status given to Pakistan. He said that there are vast opportunities for investment in textile, construction, cement and dairy development sectors in the country.
The chief minister also met the chief executives of the consortium of Chinese companies working on Sahiwal Coal Power project in Jinan. During the meeting at Huaneng headquarters, senior officials of Huaneng Shandong and Ruyi Group were present. The chief minister thanked Huaneng Shandong and Ruyi Group for working speedily on 1320 megawatts Sahiwal Coal Power project.
Chief Minister also met Secretary Communist Party of China Secretary Shandong Province Jiang Yikang in Jinan. Talking to Shehbaz Sharif, Secretary Communist Party of China, Shandong Province Jiang Yikang said that efforts are being made speedily for transforming Pak-China friendship into solid economic cooperation and Communist Party of China is playing a vital role in this regard.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was also signed for promotion of cooperation between Punjab and Shandong province on this occasion. Vice Governor of Shandong Ji Xiang Qi and Punjab Minister for Industries Ch. Muhammad Shafiq signed the MoU under which Shandong and Punjab will work for promotion of cooperation in different sectors.
The chief minister also visited Liver Transplant, Beijing Friendship Hospital and inspected medical facilities being provided with regard to liver transplant. He also reviewed treatment facilities available in the hospital for liver diseases. He said that Punjab government is setting up a state-of-the-art Kidney and Liver Transplant Institute in the provincial metropolis and cooperation of China will be welcomed in its establishment and training of medical staff.
Meanwhile, while speaking to local media, Shehbaz Sharif said that billions of dollars worth of projects are being completed, most of which are power-related. “Pakistan faces a huge energy shortage and we cannot thank China’s leadership enough for supporting Pakistan,” he said. He said that such an example of cooperation is not found anywhere else in the world.
Pakistan’s largest province Punjab has a GDP of $150 billion, which is greater than those in countries like Hungary, Ukraine or Nepal, he said. Sharif denied Punjab is taking the lion’s share of resources, and said it is working closely with other provinces.
[…] over the conference alongside the Vice Governor of Shandong province, Ji Xiang Qui. According to Pakistan Today, Vice Governor Qui said that Pakistan had succeeded in furthering Pak-China relations and that the […]
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