President Mamnoon Hussain (L) and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang shake hands prior to their meeting at the Great Hall of Peoples in Beijing, China. PHOTO: PID
BEIJING: President Mamnoon Hussain on Thursday said the deepening multifaceted strategic partnership between Pakistan and China heralds a new era of socio-economic progress and prosperity for the people of the two countries and entire region.
The President also emphasised the need for more concerted and consistent efforts on both side for early implementation of the mutually agreed projects.
He said that enhanced connectivity between China and Pakistan was of great importance to expand economic and trade cooperation, promoting economic integration, and fostering economic development of the two countries.
This was stated by the president during his meeting with Premier Li Keqiang here at the Great Hall of Peoples, the press secretary to the President was quoted as saying in a statement issued on Thursday.
The two leaders held wide ranging discussions on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.
Those present during the meeting included Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms, Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, Chief Minister, Punjab, Syed Tariq Fatemi, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs-SAPM, Miftah Ismail, Special Assistant to Prime Minster and Chairman Bard of investment,
Provincial Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Punjab, Rana Sanaullah’ Pakistan's Ambassador to China, Masood Khalid and Secretary Ministry of Planning, Development and Reforms Hassan Nawaz Tarar.
Welcoming the Pakistani President on his first state visit to China since assuming office, Premier Li said that Pakistan was an important country in the region and it has made significant contributions to peace, stability and development of the region and the world at large, adding that China highly values its time-tested ties with Pakistan.
Mamnoon said that Pakistan-China all-weather friendship was solidly anchored on convergence of strategic interests, high degree of mutual trust and were driven by an abiding interest in development and prosperity of each other as well as promotion of peace and stability in the region.
Recalling his visit to Pakistan last year, Premier Li said that China was committed to consolidate its traditional friendship with Pakistan and deepen the strategic cooperation between the two countries, adding that China will continue to firmly support Pakistan in its efforts to uphold independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and achieving national stability and development.
The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the development of China-Pakistan relations and agreed that the relationship had outgrown its bilateral dimension to acquire regional and global significance.
The two sides agreed that, as all-weather strategic and cooperative partners, China and Pakistan would jointly strive for more friendly political relations, stronger economic bonds, deeper security cooperation and closer people-to-people contacts.
The two leaders called for joint efforts to translate the high level of mutual trust and cooperation that exists at the political plane into practical cooperation that was result-oriented and deliver prosperity to the people of both countries.
Economic Corridor
Commenting on Economic Corridor, the two leaders urged collective efforts on both side to ensure that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor starts to take practical shape soon and yields tangible benefits.
Highlighting investment opportunities in Pakistan, the President said that Pakistan offers huge potential for trade and investment in diverse areas especially energy and infrastructure and invited Chinese investors to invest in these sectors and avail the incentives, being offered by the government for investment in Pakistan.
He assured that Chinese nationals, working in Pakistan, were an asset and all out steps were being taken for their safety and protection, adding that the government has upgraded security of the project sites where Chinese nationals were working.
Discussing regional situation, the two leaders agreed to continue working in close harmony and coordination on major regional and international matters as well as important regional forums like the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Asia-Europe Meeting and the Asean Regional Forum.
President Mamnoon reaffirmed Pakistan's unwavering support for one-China policy and said that Pakistan will continue to support China’s efforts in combating the three evils of terrorism, extremism and separatism.
Thanking the Chinese leadership for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to him and his delegation during stay in Beijing, the President congratulated Premier Li Keqiang on the Chinese lunar year and wished him a prosperous and a very Happy New Year – the year of the Horse.
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with every pak visit, the relationship goes more deeper. I believe in next 10 visits or so, both will emerge on the other side of earth, err. is there Pacific ocean??? now i know why they call it deeper than ocean (pacific ocean?:)
Surprised to see the difference in headlines! While Dawn and other newspapers highlighted PAF bombing attack in N Waziristan killing 30-40 militants, Tribune didn't even report it. This happens often and I have always wondered why!
China will soon Colonize Pakistan.Warning Signs are there, but I think its too late, the process is now irreversible.
If the relations with China are good, that means they own you.
If the relations with China are bad, then they claim they own you, or at least, a part of you.
I was reading similar articles a year ago - but as of today you only have one road to China and it's closed during the winter. To quote Elvis - "a little less conversation - a little more action" maybe in order.