PM leads high-level delegation to China on maiden official visit
ISLAMABAD
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday left here for China’s capital Beijing on a two-day official visit. During his first official visit to China after assuming office, the prime minister will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. The prime minister will be among the first leaders to visit China following the historic 20th National Congress of the Communist Party (CPC) of China that elected Xi Jinping as general secretary of the party. He is also scheduled to meet the Chinese investors and Pakistani businessmen.
The prime minister is leading a high-level delegation including Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Minister of Communications Maulana Asad Mehmood, Minister of Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Minister of Railways Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Minister for Board of Investment Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Minister for Defence Production Sardar Israr Tareen, and PM’s Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi, Fahd Hussain, Zafaruddin Mahmood, Jahanzeb Khan and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.
The two sides will review the All-Weather Strategic Cooperation Partnership and exchange views on regional and global developments.
The visit is expected to advance the wide-ranging bilateral cooperation agenda with the conclusion of a number of MoUs/Agreements in diverse areas, and consolidate the momentum of CPEC cooperation in the wake of the 11th meeting of the CPEC Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) on October 27, 2022.
Meanwhile, in a couple of tweets before his departure, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that the focus of his visit to China, beginning today, will be on the revitalization of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as the project’s second phase promises to usher a new era of socio-economic progress in Pakistan.
Shehbaz Sharif said that he was honoured to be among the first few leaders who have been invited after the historic National Congress of the Communist Party of China. He said Pakistan and China stand together as friends and partners at a time when the world is grappling with multiple challenges.
The prime minister further said “My discussions with Chinese leadership will focus on revitalization of CPEC among many other things. 2nd phase of CPEC promises to usher in a new era of socio-economic progress that will uplift quality of our people’s lives. There is a lot to learn from Chinese economic miracle.”
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Zhao Lijian during his briefing in Beijing said China warmly welcomes Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s upcoming visit. He said China looks forward to further advancing high-level strategic cooperation with Pakistan and bringing more fruitful outcomes from Sino-Pak friendship to the benefit of the two peoples.
The spokesperson said no matter how the international or domestic situations evolve, China-Pakistan friendship has been carried on from generation to generation. He said both countries have always supported each other on issues concerning respective major interests and have stood together.
“We would also like to take this opportunity to commend the major outcomes of CPEC. As a flagship programme of the Belt and Road Initiative, CPEC has become a landmark of China-Pakistan cooperation.
It has effectively boosted economic development, improved people’s livelihood, and generated positive socioeconomic effects in Pakistan. The recent 11th meeting of the Joint Cooperation Committee of CPEC was a success. Multiple common understandings were reached about CPEC’s future development,” he added. =DNA
