10th JCC to boost Pakistan-China cooperation under CPEC: Ambassador Nong Rong

Islamabad: Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong has said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)’s 10th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) on coming Friday would provide an opportunity to give further boost to bilateral cooperation under the CPEC umbrella.

In a meeting with Federal Minister for Planning, Development, Reforms and Special Initiatives Asad Umar here, the Ambassador said that the upcoming meeting would also open many new avenues of cooperation.

Matters relating to the upcoming 10th JCC, Joint Working Group (JWG) meetings and economic cooperation between the two countries came under discussion in the meeting.

Secretary Planning  Hamed Yaqoob Sheikh and Chairman CPEC Authority Lt Gen retired Asim Saleem Bajwa also participated in the meeting.

The upcoming JCC meeting would be co-chaired by Planning Minister Asad Umar and Vice Chairman National Development and Reforms Commission (NDRC) Ning Jizhe.

CPEC Authority chief Lt. General Asim Saleem Bajwa (retd) earlier announced that the 10th meeting of the JCC on CPEC will be held on July 16.

Normally the JCC meeting is held once a year. The 9th meeting was held in 2019 but the 10th meeting could not be scheduled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The JCC is the highest decision making forum on CPEC which reviews progress and decision making forum on the mega project.

Speaking to Ambassador Rong, Asad Umar said the CPEC projects pace of implementation will be further accelerated in the weeks and months to come.

He expressed his satisfaction over the progress and work done by JWG. The minister said the establishment and operationalization of the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) was currently among the top priorities and these SEZs would enable setting up joint ventures in manufacturing that would integrate the enterprises from both sides.