Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed the authorities concerned to ensure the routing of a proportion of the country’s imports, particularly related to the government, through the Gwadar Port.

The prime minister made this landmark decision to fully operationalise the Gwadar Port. He was chairing a high-level meeting on the projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Chinese investment.

The prime minister instructed all the ministries to enhance collaboration for swift execution of the CPEC’s second phase and warned against any laxity by the ministries and government departments. Instructing the provision of foolproof security to the Chinese workers, he said the promotion of trade and commerce ties with time-tested friend China was welcoming.

He told the meeting that the Pakistan-China partnership was on the highest ever level, so the relevant officers and departments should strive for the positive outcomes of this relationship.

Federal ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Jam Kamal Khan, Ahad Khan Cheema, Rana Tanveer Hussain, Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, Sardar Awais Khan Leghari, Dr Musaddik Malik, and Abdul Aleem Khan, SAPM Tariq Fatemi, PM’s Coordinator Rana Ehsan Afzal and relevant senior officers attended the meeting. The provincial chief secretaries joined the meeting via video link.