Cotton Research Institute to be made functional again under CPEC
FOREIGN MINISTER MAKHDOOM SHAH MAHMOOD QURESHI ADDRESSING A PRESS CONFERENCE IN MULTAN ON JUNE 27, 2021.
Multan: Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that the government had decided to make the Cotton Research Institute functional again under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
“Since the production of cotton has declined in Multan, the government has decided to make the Cotton Research Institute (CRI) functional again under the CPEC programmes,” he said while speaking at a news conference here.
He added that the CPEC Authority chief Lt. General Asim Saleem Bajwa (retd) will visit Multan for the purpose next week.
“We want to enhance the cotton production. We have witnessed decline in cotton production. It will be improved under the CPEC,” FM Qureshi said.
He said the federal government had come up with a separate budget for South Punjab for the first time in the country’s history.
He said that work on the Multan master plan was underway, while a separate budget of Rs 186 billion has been set aside for South Punjab as per the government’s promise.
“The budget will solve the long-standing deprivations that the region had been facing. In case the allocated money is not spent on a certain scheme, it will be utilised for another scheme in South Punjab,” he added.
The government, FM Qureshi said, will ensure that every penny earmarked for South Punjab in the budget is spent to develop the South Punjab.
Qureshi said that the demand for turning South Punjab into a province was above all prejudices, adding that the establishment of a separate province will be a prelude to the fastest development in the region.
“For the purpose, the timely completion of all developmental projects is essential. Planning related to the allocation of funds for different projects is yet to be done,” he said.
