Islamabad: Caretaker Minister for Planning and Development Sami Saeed has reiter-ated Pakistan’s commitment to accelerate the implementation of projects under China-Pakistan Eco-nomic Corridor (CPEC).
Talking to Chinese Ambassador to Paki-stan Jiang Zaidong on Monday, the Planning Minister congratu-lated him on assuming the charge.
During the meeting, both the sides have discussed CPEC projects and reiterated resolve to further strengthen relations between the two countries.
It is noted that the second Phase of CPEC has already started as both the countries have been cele-brating the decade of CPEC. Highlighting the ongoing development projects under CPEC, the Minister elaborated on their potential to transform Pakistan’s infrastructure and economy. He under-lined that these projects are not merely about physical connectivity but also aim to uplift the lives of the people and boost socio-economic develop-ment across the country.
He further said that the interim govern-ment is committed to implement the CPEC projects while em-phasizing the importance of the long-standing friendship between the two countries and reiterated the commitment to further strengthen-ing the ties.
Furthermore, the Minister highlighted the im-portance of the Gwadar Port, a strategic project under CPEC, which is set to become a key maritime gateway connecting Pakistan with the rest of the world. The development of Gwadar Port and its as-sociated free zone is expected to attract foreign invest-ment, stimulate economic activities, and create job opportunities in the region.
Chinese Ambassador, Jiang Zaidong appre-ciated Pakistan’s efforts to implement the CPEC particularly the second phase of CPEC. With the joint efforts of both sides, CPEC has achieved fruitful outcomes covering areas of industry, agriculture, IT, disaster prevention and mitigation, said the Ambassador, while appreciating the efforts of Planning Ministry which not only played a vital role in the implemen-tation of the CPEC.
But made significant con-tributions to promoting Pakistan’s economic and social development, upgrading Pakistan’s infrastruc-ture, improving Pakistani people’s well-being, enhanc-ing people to people contact and deepening re-gional connectivity. –INP
