THE visit of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to China, the first one by a female CM to the friendly country, has yielded positive results as she succeeded in securing firm assurances from the Government and the corporate sector for intensified cooperation to accelerate the pace of socio-economic development in the province. She sought cooperation of China in areas like information technology, agriculture, youth empowerment, skilled training and promotion of health, education, protection of environment, bio diversity, smog eradication, wildlife and plantation and got a positive response as reflected in the signing of a number of agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs).
Maryam Nawaz is spearheading a transformative change in Punjab by way of innovative policies and programmes aimed at welfare of the people. Her policies have started showing a positive impact on the lives of the people living both in urban centres and rural areas. The China visit of the Chief Minister was aimed at forging collaboration with the friendly country to benefit from its experience in addressing major challenges in different sectors and a firm foundation has been laid for the purpose. In a landmark development an agreement was signed with a Chinese company for setting up a modern robotic agricultural equipment manufacturing plant in Punjab, which will go a long way realizing agriculture potential of the province. China will also help Punjab in developing the agriculture sector, environment-friendly machinery and teaching agricultural methods and efficient use of water. The CM is already implementing a number of initiatives in the health sector and during her visit she visited different medical facilities and sought Chinese cooperation for provision of the latest technology and facilities in the sector. Maryam observed Beijing’s transport system and expressed resolve to establish an effective eco-friendly vehicle infrastructure for a sustainable transportation system in major cities of Punjab. With IT development being a strong point and passion of the Punjab leadership, Maryam Nawaz announced the province is fully prepared to promote this sector with the help of authorities in Shanghai. She also vowed to give preferential treatment to Chinese companies for investment in Punjab. Maryam surely deserves appreciation for presenting the case of the province effectively during her visit and as a result got assurances of firm and concrete support for cooperation in various sectors. The credit for the successful visit also goes to her dedicated team members like former Information Ministers Parvez Rashid, Maryam Aurangzeb, incumbent Information Minister of the province Uzma Bokhari and Chairman Punjab Information Technology Board Faisal Yousaf, who have been actively involved in the process of policy formulation and implementation.
