PM Imran Khan's address at the CIIE opening ceremony. PHOTO: PTI
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday made bid to whet investors’ appetite and touted Pakistan as a new investment frontier at the opening ceremony of the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai.
In his address at the event, Imran said Pakistan would be made a more conducive and competitive market for businesses and investments.
The premier, accompanied by Finance Minister Asad Umer and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi among others, is on the last leg of his maiden trip to the neighbouring country.
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Speaking as the chief guest at the CIIE, he emphasised that while unilateral commercialism was aggressively sought and with protectionism on the rise, Pakistan took great comfort in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s affirmation that Beijing’s doors for Islamabad will only open wider and never shut.
In Pakistan the Karakoram Highway merges into a network of modern highways that are part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. These take you to the deep sea port of Gwadar, the point where the Belt and Road converge. @ImranKhanPTI #PMIKatCIIE pic.twitter.com/Y0nfe5wlJZ
— PTI (@PTIofficial) November 5, 2018
Hailing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), PM Imran said it gave shape to shared interests and expressed hope that the CIIE would help spread dividends of free trade among closely integrated economies.
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Reflecting on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he said the project would not only benefit Pakistan but many other regions. “It will cut distances and costs and bring much-needed resources to the producers and products to the consumers,” said PM Imran.
The CPEC, he continued, is a mechanism to forge even closer connectivity between different regions, including Middle East, Central Asia as well as South Asia. He was confident that it would open up new vistas for economic growth and more investment opportunities.
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On the domestic front, PM Imran said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had initiated deep and meaningful reforms in all sectors and every aspect of governance.
“We are committed to improving transparency and accountability by introducing seamless smart technology solutions,” he said.
Prime Minister Imran Khan Keynote Speech China International Import Expo Shanghai (05.11.18) #PrimeMinisterImranKhan #CPEC #PMIKVisitsChina #CIIE
— PTI (@PTIofficial) November 5, 2018
Live Streaming Link : https://t.co/0LVMJhyDkA pic.twitter.com/0XMyVFHJjl
The prime minister highlighted that Pakistan was blessed with abundant array of resources, ranging from minerals to fertile land to wealth of renewables and the most diverse landscape with 12 climatic zones.
“Our industries are already producing a variety of goods – textiles, engineering, IT and medicine and surgical instruments,” he said. “However, our greatest and most promising source is human resource. We have a young, vibrant population whose potential will be exploited.”
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