Pakistan in talks with China for security mechanism

Hopes of clinching infrastructure, energy deals remain unmet

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan confirmed on Friday that it was in discussions with China for a joint security mechanism, as its hopes for clinching major infrastructure and energy deals during the visit of Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang largely remained unfulfilled.

The major outcome of the visit was limited to signing pacts for the provision of six bulletproof vehicles and about 20 fire-fighting trucks.

Both sides also signed two agreements for currency swap and drama production and five memoranda of understanding (MoUs) for the provision of security and fire-fighting vehicles, cooperation in the areas of establishing laboratories, human resources training and water conservancy.

However, they did not sign any agreement on setting up a joint security company for the protection of Chinese interests in Pakistan and the restructuring of Chinese energy debt.

China last month demanded the setting up of a joint security company to protect its citizens and assets. It was Pakistan's desire to at least sign an MoU for energy debt restructuring.

"Discussions on establishing a joint security mechanism are ongoing within the framework of our joint working group on security, where details will be thoroughly addressed and finalised," said Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal in response to the written questions sent by The Express Tribune.

The minister stated that security cooperation between Pakistan and China remained a top priority and both countries were fully committed to ensuring the safety of Chinese nationals and installations.

Days before the scheduled visit of Chinese prime minister, a suicide bomber hit a convoy of Chinese nationals working on a power plant, killing two and injuring one. Pakistan last week approved payment of $516,000 in compensation for the families of every deceased.

A statement of the Prime Minister's Office said that Pakistan and China signed an MoU on security cooperation.

Under the MoU, China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) is "willing to provide six bulletproof vehicles to support national security and economic and social development in Pakistan".

Details showed that both countries agreed that a peaceful and secure environment for development was an important guarantee for deepening development cooperation, and agreed to further strengthen counter-terrorism and security cooperation.

Replying to a question, Ahsan Iqbal said that the bulletproof vehicles were arranged based on the need, adding that private enterprises made their own arrangements.

The final number of vehicles may vary based on the security assessment and specific regional requirements, said Iqbal while responding to a question on whether six bulletproof vehicles were sufficient for the security of Chinese nationals.

However, there was no breakthrough on the issues of signing commercial financing agreements on the Karachi-Hyderabad section of Mainline-I project and the loan agreement for the construction of Raikot-Thakot section of Karakoram Highway.

Iqbal said that Pakistan and China agreed to prioritise the Karachi-Hyderabad section of ML-I project as the first phase. He added that discussions on technical specifications, timeline and financing would be finalised with a team of Chinese experts, which would soon follow the Chinese PM visit.

According to a letter of exchange on human resources development, the Chinese government will organise training workshops for Pakistan, including workshops on enhancing law and order capabilities in Balochistan, workshops on the construction of China-Pakistan Export Processing Zones, workshops on the construction of industrial parks along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and workshops on trade facilitation.

International travel expenses, transit fee, training fee, accommodation expenses and transportation fee for Pakistani participants attending the training workshops will be provided by the Chinese government.

Both sides also signed an MoU on strengthening cooperation in the field of information technology. "CIDCA is willing to explore the implementation of information technology and telecommunications related projects in Pakistan, such as cloud services, smart government, smart classroom phase-II, green energy solutions for higher education institutions, and capacity building through skill enhancement to support Pakistan to continue to improve its competitiveness in the global market, according to the pact.

A letter of exchange was also signed for aiding the fire and rescue vehicles in Islamabad. China will provide 19 fire trucks, one multi-functional rescue vehicle and one multi-functional rescue excavator and supporting services. Beijing will pay 72.31 million renminbi for these vehicles. Both sides also signed an MoU to explore Chinese willingness to discuss the social and livelihood projects in agriculture, healthcare, vocational training and other fields related to CPEC to support the development of the corridor.

Islamabad had proposed about 41 deliverables for the Chinese PM visit and out of those about 13 deals were signed.

Ahsan Iqbal said that Pakistan had successfully met all the mutually agreed deliverables.

But details showed that there was no agreement on a proposal to sign a loan agreement for the realignment of $2 billion worth of Thakot-Raikot project of Karakoram Highway.

China also did not support the proposal to finalise four road projects –DI Khan-Zhob road, Mirpur-Muzaffarabad-Mansehra road, Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway and Babusar Top tunnel.

There was no announcement about another proposal to sign the loan agreement for Pakistan Space Centre.