Pakistan invites Germany to invest in CPEC projects
Islamabad: Pakistan has invited Germany to invest in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who is on an official visit to Berlin on the invitation of his counterpart, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, from 12-13 April 2021 said the CPEC provided a lot of opportunities to the region and the world.
In his meeting with FM Maas, the Pakistani Foreign Minister discusses the regional and international developments of mutual interest including CPEC and opportunities for investments in Special Economic Zones (SEZs), said a foreign ministry statement.
FM Qureshi invited Germany to invest in the CPEC SEZS. The two Foreign Ministers had an in-depth and comprehensive exchange of views on the entire gamut of relations and the possibilities for further deepening this cooperation, especially, in the fields of trade and investment, science and technology, alternate energy, education and legal migration.
The Foreign Minister briefed his German counterpart about the vision of the Prime Minister shifting focus from geo-politics to geo-economics and highlighted three pillars of the government’s overarching policy, namely: peace, development partnerships and connectivity.
The Foreign Minister also announced the establishment of a new Consulate General of Pakistan in Munich to harness the economic potential between the two countries and facilitate the Pakistan-origin diaspora, especially in the South of Germany. Foreign Minister Qureshi also highlighted the inordinate visa delays being faced by Pakistani students, businessmen and families and requested for their early resolution.
During discussions on mitigating the impact of COVID-19, German Foreign Minister shared that Germany as the co-founder and biggest contributor to the COVAX initiative, is pleased to announce that Pakistan would receive 15 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, under COVAX, which would be delivered by May 2021. He was pleased to announce this during the visit of the Foreign Minister.
Foreign Minister Qureshi expressed the hope that his visit to Germany would turn a new page in the relationship and set in motion a series of substantive activities/ engagements leading up to the visit of the Prime Minister. He also extended an invitation to Foreign Minister Maas to visit Pakistan, which he was pleased to accept.
