Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has expressed the country\u2019s commitment to jointly building the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), saying the project has transformed the socio-economic landscape of Pakistan. \u201cThe CPEC has transformed the socio-economic landscape of Pakistan, upgrading modern infrastructure, enhancing regional connectivity, ensuring energy security, and creating jobs,\u201d the prime minister wrote in his article published in Global Times China.<\/p>\n
PM Kakar, who is set to participate in the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in China on October 17-18 which marks the completion of a decade of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), said Pakistan endorses China\u2019s vision of CPEC as a corridor of growth. As the flagship project of the BRI, he said, CPEC marks a milestone in Pakistan-China relations by placing \u201ceconomic cooperation and connectivity at the very center of the bilateral agenda\u201d, making the two countries more interconnected. \u201cWe fully endorse China\u2019s proposal of developing the CPEC as a corridor of growth, livelihood, innovation, greenness, and openness \u2013 representing our two countries\u2019 preference for a human-centric approach, inclusivity, and green development,\u201d he said. The prime minister said Pakistan and China as close friends, strategic partners, and iron brothers, are moving forward toward a destiny of shared future. \u201cThe tale of China-Pakistan relations is not an ordinary one. It is an account of brotherhood, friendship, and trust, the foundations of which were laid more than 70 years ago,\u201d he said. Kakar said the timeless Pakistan-China partnership and deep-rooted friendship serve the interests of both countries and remain the cornerstone of Pakistan\u2019s foreign policy. He said Pakistan and its people, with absolute confidence, value the relationship greatly, and proudly call China as best friend. It is heart-warming that in China, the term \u201cBa Tie\u201d meaning Iron Brother is reserved only for Pakistan, he added. He termed the historical evolution of the Pakistan-China relationship amid the evolving regional and global developments as an \u201cexemplary model of inter-state relationship\u201d. \u201cThe unique relationship of more than seven decades, underpinned by the rationale of strong political support, mutual trust, and all-round practical cooperation, has matured into a strong strategic partnership,\u201d he said. The prime minister paid tribute to the vision and statesmanship of President Xi Jinping who propounded the vision of building a global community of shared future, a new idea for global governance and cooperation, and a fresh approach toward international exchanges, thus drawing up a new blueprint for a better interconnected world. He quoted Zhou Enlai, China\u2019s first premier, who once said that \u201cthe friendly interactions between the peoples of China and Pakistan date back to the dawn of history\u201d and mentioned in this regard the historic links such as the Silk Road and Gandhara civilization. The prime minister said Pakistan was a pioneering member of the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative (GDI) proposed by President Xi Jinping and played an active role in giving it a more concrete shape. \u201cAs the first one to ink a Memorandum of Understanding on the GDI, Pakistan stands ready to benefit from this cooperation in areas of education, healthcare, climate change, and poverty reduction,\u201d he said. He said Pakistan\u2019s foreign policy objectives were based on \u201cpeace within and peace without,\u201d as outlined by the founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Kakar said in a world marred by multiple challenges like conflicts, economic recessions, food insecurity, social inequalities, and climate change, the salience of the Pakistan-China all-weather strategic cooperative partnership assumed great importance. He expressed gratitude to China for its support for Pakistan\u2019s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and economic security, and its principled support on the issue of Kashmir. Pakistan, he said, was committed to the one-China principle and extended its support to China on its core issues related to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xizang (Tibet), Xinjiang, and the South China Sea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has expressed the country\u2019s commitment to jointly building the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), saying the project has transformed the socio-economic landscape of Pakistan. \u201cThe CPEC has transformed the socio-economic landscape of Pakistan, upgrading modern infrastructure, enhancing regional connectivity, ensuring energy security, and creating jobs,\u201d the prime minister wrote in his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":360714,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-361959","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n