Finance Minister Aurangzeb urges private players to play role in CPEC and national economy
Fida Hussnain Lahore
China Ambassador to Pakistan Mr. Jiang Zaidong said that they conducted a survey according to which 48 per cent of Chinese companies want to maintain and expand their businesses in Pakistan.
“We need to expand and consolidate our cooperation. We need to increase cooperation in different sectors including mining and agriculture,” said the Chinese envoy.
He expressed these words during a “High Level Private Leaders Dialogue” held under the aegis of newly established Pakistan Regional Economic Forum (PREF) to discuss the potential joint venture opportunities in the region at a local hotel on Wednesday.
Chinese Consul General in Lahore Mr. Zhao Shireen and other Chinese officials also graced the occasion. Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Pakistan Observer Faisal Zahid Malik also took part in the dialogue discussion.
Pakistan former Ambassador to China Naghmana Hashmi and Vice-Admiral (R) Khan Hasham bin Siddique were also present there.
The event was co-chaired by the Chinese Ambassador Mr. Jiang Zaidong and was attended by business leaders of Pakistan. The Minister for Finance Mr. Muhammad Aurangzeb, addressed the audience via zoom link from New York.
Addressing the forum, the Chinese Ambassador emphasized the need to strengthen confidence in the development prospects of Pakistan confidence in China-Pakistan relations and in the bright future of mankind.
“First, we need to strengthen confidence and work hard. Confidence in the development prospects of Pakistan, confidence in China-Pakistan relations and confidence in the bright future of the mankind,” said the Chinese ambassador.
He emphasized that they must keep the development of the country and the destiny of national development in their own hands. He further stated that in order to strive for practical results, they must consolidate, deepen and expand China-Pakistan cooperation.
Moreover, they need to take the agricultural advantages of neighboring provinces as an example to discuss the agricultural cooperation between China and Pakistan. Also, Pakistan should offer enhanced mutually beneficial preferential policies for Chinese and regional entrepreneurs.
The Chinese Ambassador stated that current problems in Pakistan’s energy sector was not due to Chinese enterprises or the concept of CPEC but due to Pakistan’s perennial issues in the sector. He pointed out that Pakistan’s energy sector had entered an adjustment phase, while power generation capacity had been enhanced, Pakistan’s energy sector is going through a systemic transition towards gaining more efficiency and price stability.
Mr. Jiang Zaidong said that “Our friends have mentioned many advantages and I am agree with them,”.
“Of course, Pakistan geographical location is significant, and therefore we believe that it is window of Asia,” said the Chinese Ambassador.
He also mentioned the great potential of Pakistan by saying that its 60 per cent of population is under 30. He also acknowledged that there are many natural resources in Pakistan. Pakistan, he said, is a major producer of cotton and wheat and other agricultural products in the world.
The ambassador also lauded the incumbent government under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif by saying that Pakistan’s GDP growth is now on the positive trajectory. Inflation, he said, also got reduced while the foreign reserves also improved now.
