ISLAMABAD   -   Prime Minister Sheh­baz Sharif on Monday said that the difficult time for Chinese com­panies is now over and assured that the gov­ernment is further sim­plifying the procedures for them working in Pa­kistan, especially under the umbrella of China Pakistan Economic Cor­ridor (CPEC), and im­plement them in letter and spirit. 

“We are going to do this under one umbrel­la as a one-window op­eration and this I mean in letter and spirit…not just words but true im­plementation,” said the prime minister while addressing an award ceremony here.

He said under the CPEC, the two coun­tries were entering into a new era of coopera­tion, therefore the gov­ernment was further streamlining and sim­plifying the procedures to facilitate the Chi­nese companies and in­vestors working in the country. 

Shehbaz Sharif said that the Chinese gov­ernment and compa­nies had contributed towards Pakistan’s in­dustrial promotion in various areas and their contribution had not only led to creating job opportunities and in­dustrial production but also further strength­ened the bilateral eco­nomic ties. 

Earlier the prime minister gave awards to top-performing Chi­nese companies work­ing especially in proj­ects under CPEC in Pakistan.

He said recently the two friendly countries had celebrated a de­cade of CPEC under Belt and Road Initia­tives (BRI). He said Chi­na had so far invested a valuable $30 billion under CPEC which had really transformed the economic landscape in Pakistan. “Now we are entering into the second phase of CPEC in which multiple new areas are being incorporated in­cluding the green corri­dor, Information Tech­nology, and Special Economic Zones. 

Later, the prime min­ister while chairing the third meeting of the Apex Committee of Spe­cial Investment Facil­itation Council (SIFC), appreciated the expedi­tious operationalization of SIFC in a short span and its efficient func­tioning through a col­laborative approach.

The meeting was held to continue the positive momentum to attract investment in various sectors of the economy.

The meeting was at­tended by Chief of Army Staff General Asim Mu­nir, chief ministers, fed­eral and provincial min­isters, and high-level government officials.

The Apex Committee appreciated the glob­al impact of the ongo­ing outreach strategy through seminars and project inaugurations; which would be aug­mented by the SIFC’s website, being launched shortly. It gave final ap­proval of the projects, presented by the min­istries, for attracting in­vestments from friend­ly countries, under the umbrella of SIFC, in key sectors of agriculture, livestock, mining, min­erals, information tech­nology and energy.

It showed all-out support for successful conduct of the upcom­ing visit of a high-lev­el delegation from the Kingdom of Sau­di Arabia to Pakistan through the SIFC plat­form. The prime min­ister directed to make this inaugural visit a momentous event. At the end, the commit­tee expressed the re­solve for continuous support to the SIFC ini­tiative and urged the incoming interim gov­ernment to maintain the impetus for a pos­itive contribution.

He said the Paki­stan government had launched a great ini­tiative “Special Invest­ment Facilitation Coun­cil (SIFC)”, which would consist of all main stake­holders including the federal government, all provincial governments, and institutions, particu­larly Pakistan Army led by General Syed Asim Munir. He said the Army Chief had personally contributed to this pro­gramme in a way that it had no parallel in the past as he was total­ly dedicated to promot­ing the cause of Pakistan and the people who had education and talent but no jobs. “The pro­gramme SIFC will dove­tail with the entire CPEC mechanism and will be a propeller in terms of Pa­kistan’s industrial agri progress,” he added. 

PM HOLDS MEETING WITH YOUSAF RAZA GILANI

Meanwhile, the prime minister held a meeting with former prime min­ister Senator Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani here. MNA Ali Musa Gilani was also present on the occasion.

During the meeting, Shehbaz said that with­out the support of allies, the government could never have done the dif­ficult task of reviving the country’s economy alone. He thanked PPP for supporting all deci­sions of the government. During the meeting, Yu­suf Raza Gilani paid tributes to the prime minister for improving the country’s econom­ic situation and provid­ing splendid leadership during a difficult time. They also discussed the overall political situa­tion of the country.

MQM DELEGATION MEETS PM

Meanwhile, a delega­tion of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement led by Convener Khalid Ma­qbool Siddiqui called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif here. The delega­tion included Dr Farooq Sattar, Federal Minis­ter for IT Syed Aminul Haq and Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori.

The members of the delegation thanked the prime minister for ad­dressing their party’s reservations on the sev­enth digital census, and for incorporating their suggestions.