BOAO: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday said Pakistan and China have the potential to further enhancing their trade ties and called for channelizing joint efforts to meet the target of US $ 15 billion bilateral trade in next three to four years.
He was talking to China's Executive Vice Premier, Li Keqiang, as the two leaders met here on the sidelines of Boao Forum for Asia, at State Guest House.
Prime Minister Gilani said the Pak-China friendship was based on mutual trust and respect, and remained a cornerstone of Pakistan's foreign policy.
Gilani said Pakistan is committed to fighting terrorism in all its forms and added strategic and defence cooperation was an important component of Pak-China partnership.
The Prime Minister said Pakistan greatly valued China's economic support and assistance and wished to promote closer collaboration in agriculture, irrigation, energy, infrastructure development, railways and security sectors.
He expressed satisfaction on the establishment of Pak-China Joint Energy Working Group which was an encouraging landmark in the economic relations of two countries. He said Pakistan looked forward to Chinese cooperation in the full gamut of energy including hydro, coal-fired, thermal, alternative and civil nuclear energy.
He mentioned the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Government of Pakistan and China's EXIM Bank in 2009 for 700 million dollars credit line for the construction of small and medium dams in Pakistan. He stressed for the early materialization of this arrangement to alleviate poverty and help the farming community in the country.
Gilani called for establishing an umbrella corporation under the energy cooperation mechanism called `Pak-China Power Cooperation', which would include specialists and entities from all fields - conventional and alternative.
He said with joint efforts, Pak-China bilateral trade last year increased by 22 percent to US$ 10.6 billion. He said his government derived satisfaction as the country's exports to China had doubled from US$ one billion in 2008 to US$ 2.1 billion in 2011.
Gilani said Pakistan welcomed Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's support for infrastructure projects and the Chinese investment in banking sector. The Prime Minister appreciated Chinese assistance in the wake of massive floods in Pakistan.
He said Pakistan wanted to maintain friendly relations with all its neighbours including China, India and Afghanistan. He mentioned the resumption of composite dialogue with India and said Pakistan wanted peaceful and stable Afghanistan.
Gilani said Pakistan is mindful of the importance of maintaining a working and constructive engagement with the United States but would not compromise on its sovereignty and national dignity. The Chinese Executive Vice Premier said his country wanted to further enhance the existing friendly relations with Pakistan in diverse fields.
He hoped that the ties, spanning over six decades, would be further strengthened at the levels of both governments and the two nations. Earlier, Prime Minister Gilani was given warm welcome on his arrival at the State Guest House.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.