Aamir Latif
18 October 2023•Update: 18 October 2023
KARACHI, Pakistan
Chinese and Pakistani prime ministers on Wednesday discussed a variety of issues, mainly the multi-billion-dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and prospects of further deepening economic linkages.
Li Qiang, and Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar met on the sidelines of the Third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing.
They were accompanied by ministers and senior officials, said a statement from Pakistani Prime Minister's Office.
Underscoring the importance of CPEC for Pakistan’s economy, Kakar noted the flagship project's expansion into new areas of development – including industrial development, livelihood projects, mining and minerals exploration and agriculture.
He expressed confidence that Chinese investment in Specialized Economic Zones will contribute to the diversification of Pakistan’s export basket and expansion of its industrial base.
Li, for his part, underlined the "steady" growth of bilateral cooperation, noting the "positive" momentum of CPEC projects.
He hoped that leadership consensus would give a further boost to trade and economic relations between the two countries.
Launched in 2014, CPEC has attracted $25.4 billion in direct investment, according to details shared by Beijing.
CPEC is a major economic and infrastructure project between China and Pakistan, which enables China to access the Arabian Sea through the Gwadar Port.
There have been discussions to include Afghanistan in the infrastructure project, and the interim Taliban administration has also resolved to make the country a transit hub between Central and South Asia.
Beijing has rolled over more than $5 billion in loans for its longtime ally Islamabad this year to prop up the latter's depleting foreign reserves.
The two leaders also agreed to "deepen the political, economic, education, science & technology, cultural, and people-to-people relations."
They also witnessed the signing of several memorandums of understanding and agreements in areas of commerce, communication and transport, connectivity food security and research, media exchanges, space cooperation, urban sustainable development, capacity building, mineral development and industrial cooperation, climate change and vaccine development.
