(December 8th, Pak-China Friendship Center)
Honorable Minister Ahsan Iqbal, the Federal Minister of Planning, Development and Reform,
Dr. Akmal Hussain, Chair of the Session,
Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning.
Before the remarks, please allow me to say a few words about the unfortunate plane crash yesterday afternoon. This incident has caused heavy casualties, including one Chinese national. On behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan and also in my own name, I want to extend my deep grief and sorrow over the loss of lives and sincere sympathy to the bereaved families. Our hearts go all out with you. May the deceased souls rest in peace.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The National Conference on Elements of National Power is timely and important. It provides a platform for politicians, scholars and entrepreneurs to come together and explore ways to speed up the implementation of Pakistan’s Vision 2025. I believe that Pakistan has great potentials to develop its economic power and achieve the goal of Vision 2025.
Pakistan has unique geographic location. It is located at the crossroads of South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East and is thus the gateway of the regional market. Pakistan has quality and diverse workforce. Pakistan has a huge population of around 196 million, with a big population below the age of 25. Pakistan also has a large pool of trained and experienced engineers, bankers, lawyers and other professionals with many having substantial international experience. Pakistan also has rich natural resources. They range from natural gas reserves, coal, petroleum, copper, salt and iron ore among others. It has the second largest salt mines in the world, as well as world’s fifth largest gold mines. It is one of the largest producers of wheat in the world.
As the close friend of Pakistan, we are glad to see that the Pakistani government has made remarkable achievements in economic development in recent years. It has promoted the construction of energy and road infrastructure as well as maintained macro-economic stability. It has improved the overall security situation by launching the Zarb-e-Azb operation. It has also adopted an open-up policy focusing on regional connectivity and international trade. Through these efforts, Pakistan’s economy has been improved and its outlook is getting much brighter.
Pakistan’s efforts for a sustainable economy is part of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is shared by many developing countries, including China. We congratulate Pakistan on the achievement in realizing the development through Vision 2025!
Ladies and gentlemen,
China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is the major and pilot project of the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Belt and Road Initiative is China’s approach and contribution for a sustained and resilient global economic growth. It is the reflection of the deepened inter-dependence and integration between China and the rest of the world. It has won extensive support from the participating countries as well as the international community.
Right now, the CPEC enjoys extensive consensus and solid support from the governments and peoples of our two countries. It is based on mutual consultation, joint construction, equal sharing and win-win cooperation. It is facing Pakistan as a whole and delivering benefits to all the Pakistani people. The CPEC shares the same goal with Vision 2025 of Pakistan, that is, to improve the sustainability and vitality of Pakistan’s economic growth and promote the livelihood of Pakistani people. I am convinced that the smooth and continued advancement of CPEC will bring more momentum into the efforts of Pakistan to unleash its potentials and achieve its developmental goal.
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is the common aspiration for all the countries to realize sustainable development. To achieve this goal, we should promote the strong, enduring, balanced and inclusive growth of economy. We should realize the virtuous circle among economic prosperity, social progress and environmental protection. We should also strengthen the mutually beneficial and people-oriented cooperation. These are just the common ground and future path of the CPEC and Vision 2025.
China has formulated the 13th Five-Year Plan and it aims to achieve the innovative, coordinated, green, open and sharing development. Both the 13th Five-Year Plan and Vision 2025 have the same development goal of bring benefits to our peoples. China is ready to work closely with Pakistan to advance our common dreams, which will help realize the China-Pakistan community of shared destiny at an early date!
Long live China-Pakistan friendship!
Thank you!