Caretaker Prime Minister,Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has said that Pakistan has consistently expressed great appreciation and strong support for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and was willing to learn from China’s development experience,
Talking to the Chinese media in Beijing on Wednesday, PM Kakar, who was invited to attend the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, said that the Pakistanis valued the great vision embodied in the BRI, which advocated bringing peace and prosperity through economic development.
The Pakistani delegation, comprising top-level officials from the economic, industrial, security, and other departments, was eagerly anticipating bilateral discussions with Chinese officials during the visit, engaging in dialogue and interaction with Chinese think tanks and media as well, he said.
Emphasizing the significant accomplishments of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), an exemplary project of the BRI, Kakar said the CPEC has brought great development and bright prospects to his hometown of southwest Balochistan province.
Launched in 2013, the CPEC was a corridor linking the Gwadar port in southwestern Pakistan with Kashgar in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport and industrial cooperation.
Noting that Pakistan would further strengthen policy communication and coordination with China in the new phase of high-quality development of the CPEC, Kakar said his country would introduce new technologies in fields such as food security and agriculture from China, encourage enterprises to expand trade and further tap bilateral cooperation potential with China.
Pakistan will further improve the Special Investment Facilitation Council in a bid to encourage and facilitate Chinese enterprises to invest in sectors such as mining, agriculture and information technology, and create favorable conditions for Chinese businesses operating in Pakistan, he said.
Kakar also emphasized that Pakistan places high importance on the safety of Chinese citizens in Pakistan and is willing to further improve security mechanisms for Chinese citizens, making every effort to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens and institutions in Pakistan.
Expressing his hope for the two peoples to increase their understanding of each other’s language and culture and further strengthen the friendly relations, he said that Pakistan cherishes the ironclad friendship with China and believes that cooperation with China is full of opportunities.
Pakistan would learn from China’s achievements in reform and opening up as well as experience in poverty alleviation, research and development, information technology, agriculture and other areas, Kakar said, vowing to deepen the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership with China.
When speaking of the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by Xi, Kakar commended them as a driving force and mechanism for addressing the complex global challenges and underlying issues that the world faces today.
Meeting with UN chief
Prime Minister Kakar on Wednesday also urged the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterrus to play a role in stopping Israel’s violence against Palestinians.
The prime minister and the UN’s too diplomat met in Beijing on the sidelines of Third Belt and Road Forum.
“We demand an end to this indiscriminate targeting and urge the international community to act swiftly to stop the violence and hold those responsible accountable,” the prime minister posted on social media platform X after his meeting with Guterrus.
PM Kakar strongly condemned the Israeli attack on Al-Ahly Al-Mamadany Hospital in Gaza, causing immense civilian casualties.
He termed targeting a hospital, a sanctuary for those in need, an “indefensible act of inhumanity”.
International humanitarian law gives protection to hospitals and medical personnel, he added.