Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives hosts a dinner for the Chinese companies working on CPEC Projects

July 10,2023

Prof. Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives hosted a dinner for the Chinese Companies working in Pakistan on CPEC related projects, in Beijing today. The dinner was organized as part of celebrations of Decade of CPEC (2013-23) to acknowledge the contributions of Chinese enterprises and companies in Pakistan’s development through CPEC related projects.
 
The Minister recalled that the CPEC journey had started during Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to China and within a few years it grew to encompass more than 25-billion-dollar projects, ranging from energy to infrastructure and information technology. He appreciated the active role and support of Chinese leadership and enterprises in this endeavour, in particular during Pakistan’s economic hardship.
 
He also briefed the participants on the latest steps taken by the Government of Pakistan to facilitate investment and stated that Phase-II of the CPEC was increasing the bilateral cooperation in industrial, infrastructure and information technology sectors. He also emphasized on business-to-business collaboration would be hallmark of this phase of CPEC.
 
He also highlighted that the Government of Pakistan had formulated a Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) for the economic revival of the country. The SIFC will be chaired by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, with Chief of Army Staff and Federal Ministers as its members. This is in line with Government of Pakistan’s vision to promote investment and prioritize exports.
 
The Minister encouraged Chinese enterprises and investors to explore more investment opportunities in Pakistan. He said both China and Pakistan would benefit from greater Chinese investment in Pakistan. It would not only support Pakistan’s economy but would provide an avenue to Chinese companies to sell products manufactured in Pakistan into Chinese market and elsewhere in the world. He solicited the support of Chinese Companies working in Pakistan to attract more foreign direct investment from China into Pakistan.
 
The dinner was followed by a cake-cutting ceremony to commemorate the Decade of CPEC (2013-23). Chairmen, Presidents and senior representatives of over 20 Chinese companies and enterprises participated in the event, which also provided them an opportunity to share their ideas and suggestions for further increasing the mutually beneficial cooperation between Pakistan and China. Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives is on a visit to China (9-12 July, 2023) during which he will lead Pakistan’s delegation to the 12th (Special) JCC Meeting.
 
Beijing, 10 July 2023