BEIJING: Pakistan Ambassador to China, Naghmana Hashmi has said that a number of mechanisms had been established to complete all projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) within the prescribed time frame in order to achieve the desired goals.
“This is a transformative project that, through a radical overhaul of Pakistan’s energy and infrastructure, has laid a solid foundation for our future socio-economic development and has produced tangible results on the ground,” she said in an interview.
Ambassador Hashmi remarked that the CPEC was the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative put forward by General Secretary Xi Jinping and had played an important role in the development agenda of the present government in Pakistan.
During the high-level exchanges between the leaders of Pakistan and China, the two sides agreed that the focus of the second phase of the CPEC was to complete all projects under construction in a timely manner and continue to realize their full potential for socio-economic development, job creation, improvement of people’s livelihood, accelerated industrial development, industrial parks and cooperation in the agricultural fields, she said.
“We are confident that all projects in the CPEC will be completed in a timely manner to achieve the desired goals and set a new example for international cooperation based on common interests, common goals and common future,” she said.
About Gwadar, she said that as an important node of the CPEC, it was receiving increasing attention because of its trade potential. The two countries had completed a series of projects in Gwadar, including port construction, electricity projects, hospitals, educational institutions and clean and green development in neighbouring areas, while many others are at different stages of completion.
Ambassador Hashmi said that both countries were currently working on a series of projects aimed at improving the socio-economic status of the Pakistani people.
The successful conclusion of the second phase of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (FTA) opened a new window for the doubling of bilateral trade volume between the all-weather friends and strategic cooperative partners.
“We should deepen practical cooperation in agriculture, forestry, poverty alleviation, tourism, national governance systems and finance,” she added.–Agencies
