ISLAMABAD: In commemoration of 70 years of Pakistan-China diplomatic relations, the Pakistan-China Institute organized a webinar titled “Future leaders in shaping Pakistan-China relations”. The conference was arranged under Friends of Silk Road initiative. The webinar was arranged to understand and facilitate bilateral youth exchanges under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as it enters its second phase. This was the first-of-its-kind bilateral dialogue aimed at engaging youth of both countries.
An illustrious panel of eight speakers, including young parliamentary leaders, Senator Qurratul Ain Marri and Senator Dr Afnanullah Khan, participated in the Webinar. The keynote speakers were divided into two sessions, which was moderated by Qianli Liu, while opening remarks were given by Mustafa Hyder Sayed, Executive Director Pakistan China Institute.
The conference was divided into two sessions with different themes. The theme of Session one was “Pakistan-China Future Cooperation: A Perspective of Young Leaders” whereas, Session two was themed as “People to People Connectivity: Role of media and culture”
The event was moderated by Qianli Liu, Editor of Guancha, who highlighted 70 successful years of Pakistan-China relationship in shaping future of the region. While talking about youth exchanges, she said that youth development doesn’t distinguish on race, ethnicity, and religion, and so must be taken forward.
Mustafa Hyder Sayed, Executive Director of Pakistan-China Institute, in his opening remarks talked about how since Friends of Silk Road’s establishment in February 2019, the platform has brought prominent members of political parties, business groups, students, civil society, members of academia and media together to enhance connectivity among people. He highlighted that these exchanges are a fundamental pillar of Pakistan-China relations, as the bond between two countries is rooted in its peoples. Moreover, he highlighted the need for the youth to expand and enhance this beautiful, inherited bilateral strategic relationship for the next 70 years. While talking about CPEC, Mr. Sayed said that this mammoth project will engineer social equity revolution in the country.
Dr. Afnan Ullah Khan spoke on Big Data and Artificial Intelligence: How Pakistan can learn from China? He quoted President Xi Jinping who had emphasized the need to promote the deepened integration of internet, big data, and artificial intelligence with the real economy, and added that Pakistan needs to learn from the Chinese model to harness big data for making better-informed decisions, such as enhancing GDP growth.
Bayazeed Kasi, Advisor to PTI on CPC Affairs spoke on Role of youth in building a community of shared future.Recounting his interactions with youth in Balochistan, Kasi highlighted that Pakistan’s youth is more than eager to contribute to Pak-China iron brotherhood. However, he highlighted that as 65% of Pakistan’s population consists of youth, more opportunities need to be provided to them so they can contribute towards strengthening Pakistan-China relations. – Agencies
