ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China on Monday signed new agreements to enhance bilateral cooperation, which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said would take their massive joint economic project to a new phase.
Sharif witnessed the signing ceremony alongside Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, who is on a three-day visit to Islamabad to mark the 10th anniversary of the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Initiated in 2013, CPEC is a cornerstone of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative that has seen tens of billions of dollars funneled into infrastructure and connectivity projects to build a major trade route between the Gwadar Port in southwest Pakistan and China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang.
“Today we have signed certain important documents which will further enhance our economic cooperation where we will undertake a second phase of CPEC under a new model,” Sharif said after the signing ceremony on Monday.
“It will be between B2B (business-to-business), it will be investments in agriculture, in information technology, so that Pakistan, through Chinese cooperation and support, is able to export its items according to the requirement and standards of the Chinese government.”
Pakistani and Chinese officials signed six agreements on Monday, including a protocol on the export of dried chiles from Pakistan to China, and the establishment of a mechanism for the exchange of experts under the CPEC framework.
The two sides also signed memoranda of understanding, including one to promote the strategic Main Line-1, also known as Karachi-Peshawar Railway Line or ML-1, a railway upgrade project that is also part of CPEC.
More than $25 billion has been invested into Pakistan’s energy, infrastructure and transport sectors, Sharif said.
“Pakistan is absolutely ready to contribute toward President Xi Jinping’s vision of shared destiny of progress and prosperity,” the prime minister added.
“I have no doubts that together in time to come we will successfully achieve these projects and many others, and make Pakistan stand on its own feet through sacrifice, hard work and undying efforts.”
Banners celebrating the CPEC anniversary and flags of both countries have been on display across Pakistan’s capital, where security is on high alert for He’s visit. A two-day public holiday was ordered to keep people off the streets.
In a televised ceremony, the Chinese vice premier was also given the prestigious Hilal-e-Pakistan award by President Arif Alvi in recognition of his contributions to the economic corridor project.
