ISLAMABAD  -  Federal Information, Broadcasting, National Heritage and Culture Minister Attaullah Tarar on Sunday extended deep gratitude to China for helping Pakistan to overcome worst energy crisis faced by the country in the early years of previous decade.

Delivering his speech at the China Chamber of Commerce in Pakistan ceremony here, he said the friendship between Pakistan and China spanned over decades and many generations. “The friendship between Pakistan and China is being passed down from generation to generation,” the minister said, adding that the people of Pakistan and China had emotional attachment to each other.

Tarar remarked that Beijing had supported Islamabad in all circumstances and this friendship had gone through storms and difficult times successfully and proved unbreakable. He said that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was the manifestation of closeness and ideal friendship between the two countries. “CPEC is not only a project for the prosperity of Pakistan and China, but also for the entire region,” the minister opined. Energy projects including Sahiwal Coal Power Project, Thar Coal Project, Karachi Port Energy Project were launched by China under CPEC. He said in 2013, when Pakistan was facing worst energy crisis and 8 to 19 hours load-shedding was a matter of routine, several energy projects were launched under CPEC and these projects helped Pakistan overcome energy shortage. He maintained that journey of success from 2013 to 2018 was mainly because China helped Pakistan restructure its energy sector while bringing in good energy projects including nuclear, coal, hydro, solar energy projects as China believed that Pakistan’s energy crisis could be over by technological innovations, through diversification and restructuring of energy sector.

He said in 2018 GDP growth rate stood at 5.8 percent and inflation was only 4 percent. The country’s economy now was on the way to improvement and China had played an important role in this regard.  The minister remarked that the strategic partnership between Pakistan and China was commendable as both the countries were going to start the next phase of CPEC. He said in the second phase of CPEC, useful discussions were held during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to China. He expressed heartfelt gratitude to Chinse Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong, Chinese leadership and Chinese companies who enabled Pakistan to not only overcome energy crisis but also propel economic growth and provide job opportunities to the people of the country.  He said it was a matter of pride for him that he was speaking on the eve of Chinese Prime Minister’s historic visit to Pakistan and it was a matter of joy and jubilation for people of Pakistan. He said under CPEC Phase-II, Pakistan and China were promoting business to business cooperation and this phase will really probe a game changer for the entire region.  He said Pakistan, with the support of China had proved that it could overcome any crisis under most difficult circumstances.