ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday received the high-level Chinese delegation at the Foreign Office led by Yang Jiechi, Member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Director of the Central Commission on Foreign Affairs of the CPC.
Director Yang was accompanied by Vice Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Commerce, Vice Chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) and Deputy Secretary General of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
During the talks, the two sides held wide-ranging discussions on the entire gamut of bilateral relations and comprehensively reviewed developments at the regional and international levels.
Welcoming Director Yang to Islamabad, the Foreign Minister underscored that his visit reflected the strong momentum in high-level exchanges in recent months, and also signified the importance attached by both sides to further deepening and broadening the unshakable and time-tested All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership.
He reaffirmed Pakistan’s staunch support to the “One-China” policy and all core issues of China including Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and South China Sea. He also thanked for China’s firm support to Pakistan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty as well as steadfast support on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
The Foreign Minister underlined that over the years, China had immensely contributed to Pakistan’s socio-economic development. CPEC, the flagship of Belt and Road Initiative, had significantly bolstered Pakistan’s energy and transport infrastructure.
The Government was committed to fast-tracked progress on ongoing CPEC projects, and advance new projects, like ML-1 and Karachi Circular Railway, for Pakistan’s development and the well-being of its people. Special focus was being accorded to increased Chinese investments in CPEC SEZs in order to catalyze industrial development and enhance employment and livelihood opportunities for the local people.
The Foreign Minister thanked China for its invaluable assistance for economic well-being and development. He thanked for the renewal of the RMB 15 billion (US $ 2.3 billion) syndicate facility.
The Foreign Minister highlighted that the people of Pakistan had strong affinity with the brotherly Chinese people, who had always reinforced Pakistan’s efforts for national development. He added that the Government was fully committed to ensuring safety, security and protection of Chinese workers and projects in Pakistan
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari expressed satisfaction at the ongoing cooperation and coordination between Pakistan and China in the security and defence sector, which was a factor of peace and stability in the region.
In the regional context, the Foreign Minister expressed concern at the worsening humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, aggravated by the recent earthquake. He highlighted the importance of unfreezing of Afghanistan’s assets to ease the suffering of the Afghan people.
The two sides agreed to remain in close contact and work together to further deepen the multi-faceted, strategic cooperative partnership for mutual benefit.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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