Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan received Pakistan’s new Chinese Ambassador, Nong Rong, for a meeting which pushed forward CPEC projects, giving it much more forward momentum.
During this meeting, the PM Khan once more restated the commitment of Pakistan towards the prompt completion of the CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) projects, emphasizing that the multibillion-dollar project is transformational.
The prime minister also managed congratulated Nong Rong on his appointment as the new ambassador and extends his best wishes for a productive working relationship.
In the meeting, the two statesmen reaffirmed the joint support on matters of core national interest for the two countries. Prime Minister Imran Khan, declared the time-tested China-Pakistan relations “all-weather strategic cooperative partnership” and emphasized the significance of relocation of industry, increased yields and productivity in the agriculture sector, and special economic zones (SEZs).
The new China Ambassador to Pakistan thanked the PM for receiving him and guaranteed that China “will fully support speedy completion of CPEC projects as well as industrialisation in Pakistan and will deepen cooperation with the country in the agriculture sector”.
Meanwhile, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser after being called on by the new Chinese envoy at the Parliament House said “Pakistan is proud of its all-weather unique friendship and strategic partnership with China,” and also stated that the completion of CPEC would help the country realize its industrial and economic goals.
While discussing the $62 billion project, the NA Speaker said: “CPEC is a game changer not only for both the countries but also for the whole region. It will significantly contribute to bringing socio-economic development in Pakistan” and also emphasized on the Pakistan government’s desire to continually boost the China-Pakistan bilateral ties.
The Chinese envoy Nong Rong expressed his view that the China-Pakistan relationship is “exceptional and gaining strength” as time goes by. “Cooperation between China and Pakistan is a clear depiction of the commitment of the leadership of both the countries towards each other,”
While addressing a public meeting earlier, Pervez Khattak Federal Minister for Defence announced that the Prime Minister would launch the ‘CPEC City’ project.
PM Imran shared that the city will be constructed under the CPEC project and will include public buildings, golf course, education and commercial zones, theme park, apartments, and sports facilities. He further affirmed that substantial number of industrial units would be put up at the CPEC City thereby creating thousands of jobs for the people of Nowshera and other close by locale of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Prime Minister Imran Khan had stated that “The corridor is a manifestation of Pakistan-China friendship and the government will complete it at any cost and bring its fruit to every Pakistani,” and Gwadar Port is at the heart of its success. The Prime Minister has made the project his main priority, personally overseeing it to ensure the timely completion of the project, seeing as the Port of Gwadar is deemed to be a guarantor of future development and prosperity.
The $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor connecting Pakistan’s strategic Gwadar port with China’s resource-rich Xinjiang province is considered as the flagship project of the multi-billion Belt and Road Initiative, President Xi Jinping’s pet scheme geared towards boosting China’s global influence with Chinese funded infrastructure projects.