Wang Hao Beijing
Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chairman of Pakistan’s “Friends of Silk Road Club” and “Pakistan-China Institute” was on Thursday bestowed with the prestigious “Silk Road Special Contribution Award” at the 2023 Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road in recognition of his role in fostering Pakistan-China connectivity at people-to-people and government-to-government levels and for vocally advocating the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) at all forums.
The ceremony was held on the sidelines of the 3rd Belt & Road Forum and organized by the Belt and Road News Network (BRNN) with the People’s Daily of China as the council chair.
This recognition celebrates Senator MushahidHussainSayed’s exceptional contributions to fostering international cooperation and connectivity, particularly in strengthening Pakistan’s relationship with China and advancing the Belt and Road Initiative’s principles, further highlighting his vital role in promoting regional development and diplomacy.
Pakistan’s leading English language newspaper, Daily Pakistan Observer, was also awarded the prestigious ‘In-depth Reporting Award’ at the Silk Road Global News Awards 2023.
Executive Editor and President of Pakistan Observer, GauharZahid Malik received the award. The award recognized outstanding journalism and reporting on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its global impact.
The award was conferred by Li Shulei, Chief of Media, Information & Communication of the Communist Party of China and also Member of the Party’s top policymaking Political Bureau.
Ms Sun Haiyan, Vice Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, Ms XING Bo, Vice President of China Media Group and MrQuYingpu Editor-in-Chief of China Daily also spoke on the occasion and congratulated the award recipients.
In his acceptance speech, Senator MushahidHussain said he was ‘humbled &honoured’ to be given the prestig just myself but for Pakistan and its people’. Two other Awardees were from Uganda and Russia, and the 3 Award winners were chosen from amongst 4485 participants from 80 countries.
Mushahid thanked China for its consistent and enduring support to Pakistan, particularly investment in CPEC projects. Referring to the speech of President Xi Jinping at the Belt & Road Forum, he said ‘BRI is a new platform for international economic cooperation’ terming the BRI as the ‘most significant development and diplomatic initiative in the 21st Century’.
He said the core of the BRI and, indeed, Pakistan-China relations, was the people-to-people connectivity, especially the role of media, think tanks, academia, youth and NGOs to build a more ‘open, inclusive and interconnected world’. Quoting Chairman Mao, he said ‘An idea becomes a material force when it is grasped by millions and millions of people and the BRI is today a material force in the world bringing benefits and opportunities globally.’
Referring to the international situation, Senator MushahidHussain said in the Middle East, ‘We are witnessing genocide in Gaza, where the West is complicit in Israeli crimes as they are supporting Israel’ and all their talk of human rights and democracy is ‘hypocritical based on double standards’. He termed the Gaza situation as a ‘struggle between the oppressed and oppressors’ and ‘we are with the oppressed & heroic Palestinians’. The Silk Road Global News Awards is a significant platform that has been included in the List of Deliverables for the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, emphasizing its importance in promoting international collaboration and awareness.
These awards serve to celebrate and amplify the stories of the Belt and Road, shedding light on the experiences and achievements of countries and people along this vital route.
In a statement, Pakistan Observer’s Chairman & CEO Mr Faisal Zahid Malik expressed gratitude for the remarkable recognition and reiterated that the newspaper was committed to continuing its mission of providing in-depth, insightful, and impactful reporting on global events and developments.
