Pakistan, China committed to timely completion of CPEC, says Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood

Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood has said that Pakistan and China were committed to the timely completion of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday.

FS Mahmood made the comments during a meeting with Chairman CPEC Authority Lieutenant General (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa, where he underscored that CPEC is a transformational project.

"There is a complete national consensus on CPEC's indispensability for our national development efforts," the foreign secretary said.

Reviewing the progress of CPEC projects, FS Mahmood maintained that CPEC energy and infrastructure projects have created thousands of jobs and has boosted industrial growth and productivity in the country.

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"CPEC's contribution to strengthening Pakistan’s economic landscape has been real and substantial," he emphasised.

The foreign secretary said that Pakistan's focus in CPEC's next phase is on industrialisation and socio-economic development, areas that will create many jobs and growth opportunities for common people.

Three out of the nine CPEC SEZs, namely Rashakai, Dhabeji, and Allama Iqbal, have been prioritised and Pakistan would welcome foreign direct investment in those projects, he said.

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FS Mahmood said that the government was particularly focused on strengthening agricultural cooperation between Pakistan and China.

In that regard, a plan of action, detailing the contours of this collaboration, is already being discussed between the two governments, he said.

Meanwhile, Lt Gen (retd) Bajwa said that the CPEC Authority is committed to ensuring that projects were completed on time and hoped that the 10th JCC — likely to be held soon — will create more economic opportunities and contribute to further expansion of CPEC projects.

The CPEC Authority chairman reaffirmed that Pakistan would welcome the relocation of industry from China and in will institute a regime that could encourage the inflow of Chinese investments to Pakistan.

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It was reaffirmed in the meeting that post-COVID-19, through collective efforts of China and Pakistan, CPEC would become the hub for regional trade and connectivity and will deepen people-to-people exchanges at a wider level, the statement added.