Anwaarul Haq Kakar meets President Vladimir Putin on sidelines of Belt and Road Forum n Attends State Banquet in Beijing hosted by President Xi n Lauds BRI for inclusive development.

 

BEIJING  -  Caretaker Prime Minis­ter Anwaarul Haq Ka­kar Tuesday reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to further expand and strengthen bilateral cooperation with Rus­sia in the areas of trade and investment, energy, connectivity, defence, intelligence sharing and counterterrorism.

He expressed the commitment while talking to Russian Pres­ident Vladimir Putin in Beijing on the sidelines of Belt and Road Fo­rum. Speaking on the occasion, he stressed the need for enhanced regional integration for economic development of the entire region.

He said both countries have convergence of in­terests especially on the issue of terrorism. He termed bilateral coop­eration as vital for the establishment of peace and security in Afghan­istan. The prime minis­ter said we will welcome Russian investment in the energy sector.

In his remarks, the Russian President said stability is inevitable for ensuring econom­ic progress. He said the potential of economic cooperation between both countries is much bigger.

The Russian President vowed to take addition­al steps for enhancing bilateral cooperation. Highlighting the steps taken to ensure the food security in inter­national level, he said that Russia has planned to provide free cereals to the under-developed African countries.

Both leaders dis­cussed the prospects of enhancing Eurasian connectivity and Pa­kistan’s pivotal role in regional integration through rail, road and energy corridors.

They also exchanged views on regional and global developments including the evolving situation in the Middle East. It is pertinent to mention that this year, Pakistan and Russia are commemorating the 75th anni­versary of establishment of dip­lomatic relations.

Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar today attended the State Banquet at the iconic Great Hall of the Peoples in Bei­jing hosted by Chinese Presi­dent Xi Jinping. 

The dinner was hosted in hon­our of world leaders participat­ing in the third Belt and Road Forum. The Prime Minister was accompanied by senior mem­bers of the Federal Cabinet.

The State Banquet was at­tended by the Heads of States and Governments of Russia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mongolia, Hun­gary, Sri Lanka, Kazhakastan, Uzbekistan, Papua New Guinea, Mozambique and Chile among several other world leaders.

On his arrival at the banquet, the Prime Minister was giv­en a red carpet reception. He was welcomed by President Xi Jinping and first lady Madame Peng Liyuan. On the occasion, the Prime Minister also held informal interactions with the world leaders attending the event.

Pakistani Prime Minister An­waar-ul-Haq Kakar has lauded Belt and Road Initiative for in­clusive development to reduce poverty and inequality. 

In an exclusive interview with China Daily, he said the BRI is also vital for improving people’s ability to pay taxes and enhance governments’ capacity to retire their debts.

Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar de­scribed the China-Pakistan Eco­nomic Corridor, one of the sig­nature projects under the BRI, as a practical manifestation of win-win cooperation and shared prosperity and a com­mendable endeavour in build­ing a China-Pakistan communi­ty with a shared future.

The Prime Minister said all these elements also form the bedrock of President Xi Jin­ping’s visionary Belt and Road Initiative.

He dismissed theories that the BRI had led participating coun­tries into debt traps, saying that China is offering a unique mech­anism of development financing to developing countries.

Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar further said CPEC has brought about a direct investment of 25.4 bil­lion dollars to Pakistan and cre­ated a total of 236,000 jobs. He said the project underlines an excellent example of an open, coordinated and inclusive de­velopment paradigm that ben­efits all parts of the country and all segments of society. He added that the development of Gwadar Port had already opened new economic oppor­tunities. He elaborated that the port was now functional and regularly handling cargo ships including transshipment trade for Afghanistan. He said a free economic zone is in place of­fering lucrative incentives for local, Chinese and other inter­national investors. The Prime Minister said a new internation­al airport will also be inaugurat­ed in Gwadar, bringing the port closer to its vision of serving as the hub of regional trade and connectivity.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minis­ter assured provision of fool­proof safety and security to Chi­nese personnel and institutions. He said Pakistan has put in place stringent security proto­cols to safeguard Chinese work­ers and entrepreneurs. 

He cited examples including regular security briefings, risk assessment and information ex­changes between the two na­tions in order to identify poten­tial threats and come up with solutions accordingly.

The Prime Minister, who is in Beijing to participate in the Third Belt and Road Forum, said the event has provided both countries with a stage to reaf­firm their commitment to inter­national cooperation and devel­opment while highlighting the successes, reviewing the les­sons learned and charting the future trajectory of the CPEC.

Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said Pakistan’s relations with Chi­na form the cornerstone of Is­lamabad’s foreign policy. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commit­ment to this all-weather stra­tegic cooperative partnership, describing China as a strategic and trustworthy development partner. He also spoke highly of China’s remarkable achieve­ment in having lifted over 800 million people from abject pov­erty, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.

He said Pakistan with a pop­ulation of 240 million can also learn from China to put its peo­ple on a path of sustainable de­velopment. Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq has ex­pressed Pakistan’s strong com­mitment to elevate the transfor­mative nature of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to make it a true game changer.

During an interactive ses­sion with a delegation of Chi­nese think tanks and scholars in Beijing today, he said the next phase of the CPEC should seek a deeper integration of our econ­omies with a focus on diversifi­cation and innovation. He said Pakistan aspires to learn from the Chinese model to build its industrial parks and Special Economic Zones.

Referring to the signing of CPEC framework agreement on industrial cooperation last year, Anwaar ul Haq Kakar said we must now fully utilize this framework as an instrument for the mutual benefit of the two countries.