The CPEC had entered its second phase with a vigorous focus on industrialization, agriculture, and socio-economic development, said Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood.

The Second Meeting of CPEC Joint Working Group on International Cooperation and Coordination was held in Urumqi, China. The meeting was co-chaired by Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood and Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Luo Zhaouhi.

The meeting reviewed the progress of the JWG since its inaugural meeting held on 9 April 2019 in Beijing.

The Foreign Secretary underscored that the CPEC is a transformational project and has opened up significant and far-reaching economic opportunities for Pakistan.

He said that there is complete national consensus on CPEC’s indispensability for our national development efforts. In the first phase of CPEC, we have made major advancement in the domain of energy and infrastructure.

Pakistan hoped that the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) being developed under CPEC will rejuvenate Pakistan’s process of industrialization and further spur economic development. He reaffirmed the government’s resolve to complete CPEC projects in a timely manner.

The Foreign Secretary hoped that the 10th JCC, to be held in the near future, will help create more economic opportunities and contribute to further expansion of CPEC projects.

He reiterated that Pakistan would welcome relocation of industry from China and in that regard was instituting a regime to encourage inflow of Chinese investments to Pakistan.

Emphasizing that CPEC was a fiscally responsible project, he reiterated that both sides will welcome third party participation in CPEC projects through mutual consultations.

It was reaffirmed in the meeting that China and Pakistan will continue to work closely to promote CPEC’s positive contributions and would encourage think-tanks, media and opinion-makers to understand and examine it as a case-study for international co-operation, economic development, and people-to-people exchanges.