Sino-Pak cooperation: JCC meeting to explore new avenues

BEIJING: The Special Commemorative 12th Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) meeting of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is to be held on Tuesday in Beijing, as the two countries celebrate a decade of achievements linked to the project.

Federal Minister for Planning and Development, Ahsan Iqbal who will lead the Pakistani delegation, said before his departure for China that the two sides will explore new avenues of cooperation and chart the future course for the CPEC in emerging sectors during the meeting, Global Times reported.

This year marks a decade of the CPEC.

The landmark project was formalized on July 5, 2013, when the then prime minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif visited China to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Pakistan and China representing the official commencement of the project.

The CPEC is a corridor linking the Gwadar port in south-western Pakistan with Kashgar in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which encompasses energy, transport and industrial cooperation.

The 12th Special CPEC JCC meeting holds great significance as it not only represents a decade of fruitful collaboration but also sets the stage for the next phase of the project.

The meeting aims to forge stronger ties, explore new opportunities and reinforce the foundation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).