Ambassador Khan held meetings with Chinese dignitaries at the inauguration of 'Pakistan Day' at the China International Carpet Exhibition, organized in Xining the provincial capital of Western China Qinghai province from 21 to 24 June.

The exhibition is an annual event that attracted over 5,000 carpet manufactures and exporters from 40 countries around the world.

This year the organizers of the event had declared June 21 to be 'Pakistan Day', and dedicated the day to a special exhibition of Pakistani carpets and handicrafts.

Sheikh Khalid Saeed, chairman of the Pakistan Carpets Manufacturers and Exporters Association, which boasted the largest trade delegation at the exhibition, had invited Ambassador Masood Khan to be chief guest and keynote speaker on the occasion.

In his remarks, Ambassador Masood Khan said Pakistan and China continue to add depth and breadth to their time-tested friendship. The two countries are now looking to enlarge the economic dimension of their relationship. The recent trajectory of growth in bilateral trade and investment is extremely encouraging.

"The two countries had the benefit of long years of rewarding and fruitful collaboration behind them. Entrepreneurs from both countries can also rely on the support of robust institutional frameworks already put in place by the two governments", Khan noted.

"We are therefore confident that our economic relations would be as robust as our strategic partnership," said the ambassador.

Ambassador Masood Khan thanked the Chinese central government as well as the provincial governments of Qinghai and Tibet for supporting Pakistan's carpet industry.

"Carpets are a vital part of Pakistan's exports. This platform in Qinghai provides more opportunities to our exhibitors to increase their exports to China", he said.

The ambassador said that the Qinghai exhibition had created an excellent atmosphere for brand building, exchanges, cooperation and development of carpet industry.

Later, the three Chinese dignitaries visited the Pakistan Pavilion and various stalls set up by Pakistani exhibitors. They appreciated the exquisite beauty and fine craftsmanship of Pakistani carpets.

The success of the exhibition in Qinghai would not have been possible without the efforts of Akhtar Nazir 'Cooki', a prominent Pakistani businessman, who has worked tirelessly for the promotion of Pakistan's carpet industry in China.

The government of Qinghai has given Cooki honorary citizenship in recognition of his services for fostering closer ties between the province and Pakistan's business sector.