CPEC a strategic project with economic, logistics, connectivity value: President

Islamabad: President Dr Arif Alvi on Friday said that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor was a strategic project having economic, financial, logistics and connectivity value for Pakistan and China as well as regional and other countries.

The president, in a meeting with China’s Ambassador in Pakistan Nong Rong, who called on him, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, said Pakistan would welcome other countries to partner and benefit from this project.

He said that full operationalization of CPEC and the planned Special Economic Zones (SEZs) was an important milestone and urged the Chinese IT sector to invest in SEZs and benefit from Pakistan’s cost-effective human resources, liberal investment regime, cyber data protection policy and tax incentives.

During the meeting, the president emphasized the need to fully operationalize road linkages between China and Gwadar port in all weather conditions, around the year, to fully utilize their capacity and achieve their fullest potential.

He further said that Pakistan had taken tangible steps to ensure the safety and security of Chinese workers and nationals who were contributing to the development of various strategic projects.

President Alvi said that Pakistan was learning from the steps taken by the Chinese leadership to bring millions of people out of poverty and provide health facilities at the grassroots level by adopting out-of-box solutions which multiplied the quality and efficiency of human resources and led China towards progress and prosperity.

He also made a special reference to the Chinese Barefoot doctors who were trained and equipped with the necessary skills and tools in a record period of six months and played a pivotal role in improving the health indicators of China.

While referring to the meeting of the higher leadership, the president said that during these meetings, the friendship and cooperation in the economic, financial, communication, trade and investments were further strengthened.

He appreciated that sizeable progress had been made to complete the already commissioned projects, launch new projects and move forward the ML-1 project to put the country on a fast trajectory of development.

The president said that in the current changing world scenario, China had assumed great importance in the region where Pakistan was a close partner of China to pursue peace and stability in the region.

He said that close cooperation between the two countries in marketing JF-17 Aircraft in the world market would help in expediting the export of state-of-the-art fighter aircraft and meet the security needs of the buying countries.

He further said that both countries should explore options to use local currency for bilateral trade and investment, which would not only reduce the cost but also increase the volume and quality of the trade and investment between the two countries.

The president appreciated the investment by the Chinese company in a garment factory in Lahore, which was producing garments for internationally reputed brands. The factory was established in a record period of 5 to 6 months and had started the exports of value-added products and is earning substantial foreign exchange.

He also emphasized the need for upscaling this facility and copying the project in other regions of the country as well.

President Alvi encouraged the Chinese companies to set up their outlets and manufacturing plans for semiconductors in Pakistan and benefit from the trained and cost-effective human resources, tax incentives and other benefits offered by the Government of Pakistan.

The Chinese ambassador conveyed greetings of the Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang to the president. He said that the Chinese government was fully committed to completing CPEC as fast as possible, envisaging new projects and reaching out to the Government of Pakistan to meet its immediate financial and economic needs.

The president also appreciated the continuous financial and economic support and assurances of President Xi Jinping and said that it would help bring financial stability to the country.

He also appreciated the project undertaken by the Chinese company to launch the Safe City Project in Lahore, which would provide the city with a much-needed secure environment.

President Alvi also expressed his gratitude for the generous support and sympathy extended by the Chinese government, army, corporations and the general public to alleviate the suffering of millions of affectees of recent super floods in Pakistan.