Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, the other day said that the Pakistani government is fully committed to the implementation of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). “China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a core component of your visionary initiative of the “One Belt-One Road. The PM appreciated your commitment and leadership for the realisation of CPEC projects,” the prime minister stated in his meeting with President Xi Jinping at the Diaoyutai State Guest House on the sidelines of the ”Belt and Road Forum for International Co-operation.”.
The Forum is being hosted by Chinese government on May 14-15, and is being attended by 29 heads of state and government, besides delegates from around 130 countries.
During the meeting, the prime minister was accompanied by Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah, Chief Minister Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Pervaiz Khattak and Chief Minister Balochistan Sanaulllah Zahri, besides Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq, State Minister for IT Anusha Rehman and Advisor to PM on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz.
President Xi Jinping was also accompanied by his high level nine-member delegation.
The prime minister, earlier met his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang who laid emphasis on expediting the projects in Gwadar and establishment of Special Economic and Industrial Zones.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif stated that the Pakistani delegation was a sign of strong bonds of friendship between the two countries.
“The presence of all four provincial chief ministers symbolises the broad-based support in Pakistan for co-operation with China and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor,” he remarked.
Pakistan and China signed six accords of cooperation in diverse fields.
Mr Sharif and his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang witnessed the signing ceremony at the Peoples Great Hall of China.
The memorandums of understanding reached countries pertain to: framework of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative and agreements on economic and technical cooperation (1.5 billion RMB for Gwadar Airport, etc and 1.1bn RMB for East Bay Expressway).
The worth of the accords is about $500 million. The MoUs add to $57bn already pledged for the CPEC.
According to the Prime Minister Sharif’s office, following deals are among the accords signed on Saturday:
- Two cooperation agreements worth $333m for an airport in Gwadar, site of a deepwater port that is to provide an outlet to the Arabian Sea from the far western Chinese province of Xinjiang.
- Establishment of the Havelian dry port in Pakistan.
- Agreement on economic and technical cooperation ($160m) for the East Bay Expressway linking Gwadar to Pakistan’s highway network.
President Xi expressed satisfaction over the pace of growing bilateral ties between the two countries and vowed to extend bilateral relations by extending cooperation in multiple spheres.