Investment opportunities: Chinese government urged to encourage state-owned, private sector companies

Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Khusro Bakhtyar has said that Chinese government has been urged to encourage state-owned and private sector companies to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan.
"The federal government will facilitate provision of utilities such as electricity, gas and road infrastructure to all Special Economic Zones (SEZs) under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The government is committed to speedy development of these projects. Pakistan also wants to promote a trilateral investment framework within the ambit of the CPEC to allow other countries to invest in the country," the minister expressed these views while talking to Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing who called on him here on Wednesday.
The meeting was also attended by Secretary Planning Zafar Hasan and Project Director CPEC Hasaan Daud Butt.
Both sides agreed to prepare tangible deliverables for the Prime Minister's visit to China to participate in Belt and Road Forum, planned in April this year.
The minister reiterated that all measures would be taken to fast track the industrial cooperation by ensuring development of Special Economic Zones. Groundbreaking of the Rashakai SEZ will be done soon, he informed.
The minister said that Chinese experts on socioeconomic development are visiting Pakistan this month to discuss cooperation in agriculture, education, medical treatment, poverty alleviation, water supply and vocational training projects.
According to the sources, another expert team on agriculture, food processing and value addition would visit Pakistan next month. They said that the expert team would visit various areas of the country for promotion of agriculture sector.
The minister said that Pakistan welcomes Chinese agriculture companies to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan for input supplies as well as in food production processing, logistics, marketing and exports in a vertically integrated way or through joint ventures with Pakistani companies.
About railway projects, the minister underscored the need for finalising preliminary design of Pakistan Railways Main Line (ML-1) up-gradation so that negotiations on financial matters may commence.
The minister also highlighted the need to expedite progress on Gwadar projects such as new international airport, hospital, vocational institutes and power plant. These projects would not only create conducive environment for future investment but would help to upgrade facilities for local population, he added. He said that ground is set to attract more trilateral investment in future.
He intimated that stakeholders' consensus has been achieved on Gwadar City Master Plan and the document would be finalised at the earliest.
He hailed Chinese government for financial support to initiate pilot projects for poverty alleviation and informed that Pakistan side will identify sites for workable as well as impact creating projects with the input of provincial governments in the same sector.
The minister for planning, development and reform highlighted importance of agriculture sector development for Pakistan's economic uplift and said that federal and provincial governments would come up with a viable roadmap for the forthcoming Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting on agriculture. "We will promote technology transfer, trade facilitation & scientific as well technical cooperation in this important sector," he said.