Zubair Qureshi
Islamabad
Daewoo Express Pakistan on Wednesday signed a historic Strategic Alliance Agreement with Skywell Automobiles, China, for setting up a value chain for electric vehicles in Pakistan.
The agreement was signed at the Serena Hotel and witnessed by Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Federal Minister for Science & Technology, Deputy Chairman Senate Saleem Mandviwalla and Ambassador of China Yao Jing.
The agreement was signed simultaneously in Pakistan and China connected via web-link. On behalf of Daewoo Pakistan, its CEO Faisal Siddiqui signed the agreement while simultaneously in China Skywell Automobile’s Chairman Steve Huang, and CEO Fan signed the agreement on behalf of Skywell Automobiles.
Daewoo Express’s board members, Sameer Chishty and Danish Ellahi were also present on this occasion.
Under this agreement, Skywell Automobiles China and Daewoo Express Pakistan will collaborate to introduce electric buses and other electric vehicles in Pakistan and create a technical support base in the country. Skywell Automobiles will provide its state of the art electric buses for the Pakistan market in Phase-1, and in Phase 2, shall set up a manufacturing plant for producing electric vehicles in Pakistan.
Speaking on the occasion, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, said electric buses and vehicles were the future of transport as the world was moving towards electric vehicles. He said “we in Pakistan need to move towards this technology to protect our environment and grow our economy.”
He appreciated the work being done by Ministry of Trade & Commerce, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Ministry of Climate Change, and Ministry of Industries, to promote environment friendly technologies in Pakistan.
Ambassador of China Yao Jing speaking on the occasion talked about the strong ties between China and Pakistan and the spirit of collaboration between the private sector organizations of both countries. “China is playing a key role in strengthening power generation capability in Pakistan under CPEC, and now gearing up for power usage through such business ventures for the overall environmental and economic betterment of Pakistan,” said the Chinese envoy.
Saleem Mandviwalla on the occasion said the agreement between Daewoo Express and Skywell was not merely an agreement between a Chinese bus manufacturer and a Pakistani transport company, rather, it was the dawn of a new era in transport sector in Pakistan—an era which promises to be good for the environment as well as being positive for the economy.
Faisal Siddiqui said Daewoo Express transformed the transport sector back in 1998 when it introduced international standard diesel engine buses in Pakistan, and now again in 2020, Daewoo Express is taking a giant leap forward by collaborating with a leading Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicles, Skywell Automobiles China to introduce electric vehicles in Pakistan.
