75 Years of Pakistan-China Friendship: Prof. Ahsan iqbal, Federal Minister for Planning,Development & Special Initiatives of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

It is with immense pride that I offer my warmest felicitations on the 75th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China, a friendship that has long transcended the formalities of statecraft to become something far rarer and more enduring: an Iron Brotherhood, forged in shared purpose and strengthened with every passing decade.

I have had the distinct honour of standing at the heart of this partnership’s most transformative chapter, as Minister incharge of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor and the driving force behind its continued evolution into CPEC 2.0.

What began as a bold vision has since become a lived reality across our nation: power restored to millions of homes and industries, modern road networks connecting regions that geography had long kept apart, and Gwadar rising as a maritime hub whose strategic significance now resonates far beyond our coastline. These achievements are not merely milestones on a map. They are the enduring expression of what two nations can accomplish when their friendship is rooted in trust, genuine reciprocity and an unshakeable belief in each other’s potential.

As we step forward together, the convergence of CPEC 2.0 and Pakistan’s national development vision, URAAN Pakistan, marks a deeper and more purposeful alignment between our two countries. URAAN’s five pillars of Exports, E-Pakistan, Environment and Climate Change, Energy and Infrastructure, and Equity, Ethics and Empowerment find their natural counterpart in CPEC 2.0’s five corridors of Growth, Livelihood, Innovation, Green Development and Openness.

These are not parallel frameworks merely running alongside each other. They are two expressions of the same conviction: that lasting prosperity is built people first, and that no nation builds it better than when it builds alongside a true and committed partner. Seventy-five years is a remarkable distance to have travelled together, and yet the truest measure of this friendship lies not in how far we have come, but in how resolutely and ambitiously we choose to keep moving forward.

The foundations are strong, the vision is shared, and the possibilities that lie ahead in trade, technology, knowledge, green development and human connection far exceed anything we have yet attempted together.

This anniversary is not a destination to rest upon. It is a renewed call to deepen our ties, diversify our collaboration and keep building, with the same conviction that brought us this far, because the most meaningful chapters of this friendship are still ahead of us.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026