Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar welcomed a high-level Chinese delegation headed by Minister Liu Jianchao during his speech at the China-Pakistan Consultative Mechanism meeting in Islamabad.
In especially within the context of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the meeting represents a crucial step in strengthening the existing strong connections between the two countries.
The Deputy Prime Minister Dar emphasised in his speech the special nature of the consultative mechanism and its role as a platform for deeper development and collaboration between China and Pakistan. “The meeting is a unique idea for the promotion of Pakistan-China relations,” he emphasised, emphasising that the CPEC has the complete backing of all political parties in Pakistan.
Mr. Liu Jianchao, Minister of Central Committee of the International Department of Communist Party of China (IDCPC), was received by Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, @MIshaqDar50, Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister today in Islamabad.
Greetings to Mr Liu, the Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan image.twitter.com/5vnG6Z7cYL
Foreign Office Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 21 June 2024
“Pakistan is proud to be the first country with which China started the Belt and Road Initiative,” Dar remarked during the gathering, highlighting the historical significance of the Chinese president’s-led initiative since it began in 2013.
He went on to say that CPEC represents a new vision of collaboration between the two nations and that the visit by the Chinese delegation to Pakistan is a part of the high-level contacts between the two.
“The multibillion dollar project has led to record Memorandums of Understanding between the two countries and cemented a new era of China-Pakistan relations,” Dar said, emphasising how “CPEC has promoted social, sustainable development, and regional cooperation.”
The deputy prime minister also mentioned how China supported Pakistan during its dark days by investing there and mentioning the initiation of energy and infrastructure projects under the CPEC.
Reiterating the Chinese leadership’s commitment to improving bilateral relations, Chinese Minister Liu Jianchao expressed satisfaction at the joint consultative mechanism meeting’s convening. Under the direction of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Xi Jinping, he emphasised the positive state of relations between China and Pakistan.
He noted that “Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited China two weeks ago,” and that “the leadership discussed the regional and global situation.” “China and Pakistan agreed to further increase strategic cooperation.”
The minister emphasised that the commitment of the leaders of both nations to improve relations was the basis for his visit. In addition to highlighting that “the security situation should be improved for investment,” he said that Pakistanis fully support the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Liu issued a warning to outside parties attempting to erode popular support for CPEC by disseminating misleading information. “Some external elements want to damage this public support by spreading false information,” he said.
Leading political figures attended the conference, including Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Yousuf Raza Gilani, the chairman of the Senate, Ayaz Sadiq, the speaker of the National Assembly, Rauf Hassan and Ali Zafar of the PTI, and Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, the chief of MQM-Pakistan. Their attendance demonstrated the projects’ widespread political support.
