PM, CIDCA chairman discuss promotion of Pak-China pragmatic cooperation

BEIJING: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday met Chairman of China International Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) Ambassador Luo Zhaohui wherein they exchanged views on the unique and enduring China-Pakistan friendship and the promotion of pragmatic cooperation driven by common development, strategic trust and mutual benefit.

The prime minister, who arrived here on Wednesday on the second leg of his five-day China visit, appreciated the robust support of CIDCA for CPEC projects and for Pakistan’s socioeconomic development, particularly the establishment of Pakistan-China Friendship Hospital, the desalination plant in Gwadar, and the New Gwadar International Airport.

Terming the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as the hallmark of ironclad friendship between Pakistan and China, they noted that the Joint Working Group on Socioeconomic Development under the CPEC had yielded positive results, the official news agency reported.

They also expressed the confidence that the momentum would continue in the CPEC Phase II to improve the lives and livelihoods of the people.

Prime Minister Shehbaz underlined that the governments and the peoples of both countries had always stood in solidarity with each other during times of natural disasters and calamities.

He commended CIDCA’s pivotal role in supporting developing countries, particularly Pakistan, during the Covid-19 pandemic and the post-2022 flood reconstruction, and also the grant of polio vaccines.

The CIDCA chairman expressed commitment to further deepening of the China-Pakistan cooperation across diverse fields.

He also underlined the need to expand the bilateral partnership in infrastructure development, climate change response, and human resource development, including under the ambit of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Global Development Initiative (GDI).