Shehbaz Sharif claims risk of potential default completely averted n Performs groundbreaking of 1200MWs Chashma-5 nuclear power plant in Mianwali n Lays foundation stone of main campus of National University of Technology in Islamabad n Thanks IMF MD for assistance in $3b deal.

MIANWALI/ ISLAMABAD  -  Prime Minister Shehbaz Shar­if Friday broke ground on the 1200 MW Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Unit 5 (C-5) here which is likely to be completed in seven to eight years at a cost of around US$3.48 billion. 

On June 30, 2023 the prime minister had witnessed the signing of Memorandum of Un­derstanding (MoU) on the C-5 project between China Nation­al Nuclear Corporation Overseas Ltd (CNOS) and Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC).

Addressing the ground break­ing ceremony, the prime min­ister said keeping in mind the country's requirements of clean and cheap energy sources, the project should be completed be­fore the given schedule. 

Terming it a huge milestone and a symbol of cooperation be­tween the two great friends Chi­na and Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif said the project would help the country promoting clean, effi­cient and comparatively cheap­er energy. He said after a pause of many years, the China Paki­stan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was going again in full swing. He gave the credit of concluding the agreement of C-5 to the coali­tion government and the SPD for their hard efforts. 

"Our detractors had been fab­ricating rumours all around that Pakistan was going to default on its sovereign commitments but we crossed all turbulent waters in just 15 months," he added. 

However, he said the risk of potential default had been com­pletely averted through team effort of the government. The prime minister said a couple of days ago, there was an approv­al of the International Mone­tary Fund (IMF) programme and within 48 hours around $4.5 bil­lion were transferred by the Paki­stan's brotherly countries Saudi Arabia and UAE besides another $1.2 billion from the IMF. 

About 4 months ago, he said the Chinese government and commercial banks rolled over amounts back to Pakistan to the tune of $5 billion. He paid his tributes to the Chinese President XI Jinping, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for their support in need of the hour. 

He informed that as a result of serious efforts by the coalition government and himself, the Chinese company kept the cost of the project at the level agreed upon in 2017-18 by then PML-N government and not include the average inflation of around 10% in the project cost. Further, he said on his request, a discount of Rs 30 billion was also given to Pakistan which reflected a sense of sincerity between the two countries. 

Charge D’affaires of the Chi­nese embassy in Pakistan, Pang Chunxue said C5 would help Pakistan building low carbon, clean and cheap energy which would also produce local jobs and would engage the local in­dustries to contribute in the project. 

Chairman of China Nation­al Nuclear Cooperation Yu Jian­feng said cooperation between Pakistan and China in nuclear energy had become an integral part of the all weather strategic cooperative partnership. 

He said the C5 project was a significant milestone in the HPR 1000 development glob­al journey. Hualong One (HPR 1000) is the 3rd-generation nuclear power brand to which China has exclusive intellec­tual property rights. Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Ener­gy Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan, and Chairman PAEC Dr Raja Ali Raza were also pres­ent on the occasion.

PM calls for promoting skilled-based vocational training Prime Minister Shehbaz Shar­if on Friday said that the gov­ernment was promoting the skilled-based vocational train­ing to expand foreign remittanc­es that would ultimately help improving the current account deficit of the country. 

In his address after laying the foundation stone of the central campus of National University of Technology (NUTECH) here, the prime minister said the new campus would help producing thousands of skilled-based hu­man resource every year who would play their key role in the country’s development. 

The prime minister, pledging to make the vocational educa­tion as the government’s num­ber one priority, said skilled hu­man resource earn more than the raw labour, hence increas­ing the country’s foreign remit­tances. 

He said vocational training was key to prosperity and de­velopment in today’s era as nations get prosperous only at the back of these skilled-based people. He hoped that after completion, the campus would play key role in promot­ing technical and industrial ed­ucation in the country. He re­called that he for the first time in 1997, put his full force to promote vocational training in the country when there was no comprehensive institution to look after this important area of the education sector. 

Similarly, he said the Pun­jab government led by him established Punjab Educa­tion Endowment Fund (PEEF) for which Rs 2 billion annual funding was allocated to pro­vide scholarships to the talent­ed and deserving students on merit base. He said this great project under Dr Amjad Saqib brought educational revolution in the province. 

Likewise, he said Danish Schools’ project was also his brainchild which helped bridg­ing the gap between rich and poor. “Until there is no discrim­ination of rich and poor espe­cially in the education sector, the Quid-e-Azam’s vision of ed­ucational right for all cannot be fulfilled.” 

He said only one month had left for this government and he was still making efforts to provide maximum relief to the people PM Shehbaz also dis­tributed certificates among the high achiever youth in var­ious fields. 

Minister for Education and Professional Training Rana Tan­vir Hussain said that the coali­tion government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, with its untiring struggle brought the country out of crisis and set it on the right path. Therefore, he hoped that the people would vote for PML-N in the next gen­eral election. 

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Shaza Fatima said vocational educa­tion was as important as it was the formal education. She said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during his previous tenures as Chief Minister Punjab worked really hard to promote techni­cal and vocational education in the province. Minister for Plan­ning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal and In­formation Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb were also present on the occasion.

Meamwhile, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif had a telephonic conversation with Managing Director of the Inter­national Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva on Friday and conveyed profound grati­tude to her for support and as­sistance in materializing the recently concluded Stand-by Agreement for $3 billion.

The prime minister appre­ciated the IMF managing di­rector for her leadership and professionalism. He also ac­knowledged that the MD felt for the poor and termed her sup­port invaluable.

The IMF MD said the prime minister built a very convinc­ing case, though the IMF Board was skeptical about Pakistan’s commitment to fulfilling the conditions of agreement due to the past trust deficit. However, in the light of her continued en­gagement with the prime min­ister, she assured the Board that Pakistan would deliver on its commitments as she had personally met the prime min­ister and seen his seriousness to deliver.

She acknowledged the leader­ship shown by the prime minis­ter. She underlined that there was strong partnership and mu­tual trust between both the par­ties now. 

Terming Pakistan an import­ant member of the IMF, she re­assured to continue to help the country. The prime minister on the occasion appreciated MD Ms Georgieva for her positive approach and her frank com­ments during his interaction with her in Paris. Eventually, the hard work on both sides paid off and the Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) was signed. 

He reassured that he would not tolerate an iota of violation of the agreement. 

“This government is here till August after which an inter­im government will take over and he is confident that they will continue to fulfill the ob­ligations.” 

After elections, if the people of Pakistan re-elected his gov­ernment, he was committed to turn around the economy with the help of IMF and develop­ment partners, said the prime minister.

Referring to Pakistan”s best quality mangoes, the prime minister said it would be an honour to send a gift of Paki­stani mangoes to the IMF man­aging director as a token of re­spect and deep appreciation.