LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif met US Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale and Consul General in Lahore Zachary Harkenrider yesterday and shared views on the matters of mutual interest, promotion of bilateral ties and cooperation in various sectors including energy.
During the meeting, the CM said that Pakistan-US relations are multidimensional, and hoped that they will further improve in the coming days. Shehbaz said that terrorism is an international issue and cannot be countered by any country alone.
He further laid stress of making collective efforts for rooting out the menace of terrorism. The CM urged world powers to understand difficulties of the countries which are up against the terrorism.
“Pakistani government is determined to make the country a welfare state in accordance with the vision of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah wherein equal opportunities are available to all citizens including minorities,” Shehbaz Sharif told the Americans.
The American envoys appreciated speedy development activities in all sectors in Punjab and also commended the measures for elimination of child labour and protection of the rights of brick kiln workers. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatimi was also present on the occasion.
Meanwhile, the chief minister stressed the need of hard work to cope with energy crisis in the country.
“The energy projects under China Pakistan Economic Corridor are under completion while 1320mw Sahiwal Coal Power Plant will be completed much before the stipulated period,” he said while addressing a meeting through video link. “Power production from this project will start from the beginning of next year,” he added.
Shehbaz said that thousands of megawatts electricity will be generated with the completion of several energy projects till 2018 which will fulfill electricity requirements while industrial and agriculture sectors will also progress.
The meeting reviewed progress on development projects including power projects. Chairman Planning & Development, Secretary Industries, Chairman Investment Board and concerned authorities attended the meeting.
