Azeem A Khan

President of Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) Lin Songtian said China will assist Pakistan with infrastructure and industry development as well as capacity building of young people Lin, who is leading a delegation on his first foreign tour as President of the CPAFFC, addressed a press conference at the Chinese Embassy. Briefing on the goals of his visit to Pakistan, he stated that promoting people-to-people interactions, media collaboration, and youth exchange programmes are key priorities for him, and that he will collaborate with Pakistani officials to make this plan a reality.

He emphasised China's outstanding friendship with Pakistan and stated that China will help lift Pakistan out of poverty by improving trade, upgrading its infrastructure and promoting technical growth. In addition to education, he believed that technological skills are critical to achieving these aims. In this regard, he said, China is collaborating with Pakistan to help young people increase their skills through vocational training and bilateral partnership. He stated that the CPAFFC will increase people-to-people contacts in order to better understand each other and develop ties between the two countries.

He asked the media to play a role in demonstrating both nations' development and success. “Media cooperation helps promote people-to-people exchanges and we will invite Pakistani media to visit China and look for themselves the true story of how China defeated poverty. Youth exchange also plays a key role. Capacity building is fundamental to human resources development. Vocational training schools are important in this regard,” he said.

Lin stated that in order for Pakistan to thrive, the country must focus on building more IT parks, industrial units, and corporate organisations. “We need to invest in building infrastructure so that Pakistan can pay off its loans. Let’s work together to mobilize resources for investment. We have to mobilize non-governmental resources side by side with governmental support. We need to promote entrepreneurship,” he added. He said Pakistan is among the first countries that have joined the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and it has largely benefitted from CPEC.

He stated that the first phase of CPEC eased Pakistan's energy crisis and enhanced the country's communication infrastructure. “In the second phase of the corridor, China is ready to support Pakistan in its journey to development and prosperity. We would extend help to Pakistan in transforming its human resource into skilled labour. We are also working in infrastructure building which is the key to regional and global connectivity,” he added.

Both countries are collaborating to make this long-standing friendship more apparent and tangible to their people, he said and added, “I would urge investors from China and other countries to come and invest in Pakistan.” He stated that he picked Pakistan as the first place for his abroad travel because of the strong affinity between the two countries.He said that the CPAFFC had gathered supplies worth 126 million RMB for flood-affected people in Pakistan, and that these goods will be delivered to Pakistan shortly.

“We always remember that Pakistan always stood for China and also helped Chinese people in natural calamities and fighting COVID-19. I also came to help implement the consensus reached between President Xi Jinping and Premier Shehbaz Sharif on promoting people-to-people exchanges to build a community with a shared future for mankind,” he added. He stated that China and Pakistan have 18 friendship cities and that he would try to strengthen this link.

He said that China is assisting Pakistan in improving its underdeveloped areas and developing Gwadar into a prosperous coastal industrial hub. He believed that railway connections, backed up by roadways from Xinjiang in China to Gwadar, will enable Pakistan to grow as an economic force. He stated that as part of the CPEC, China intends to build a high-speed railway connecting Xinjiang province to Gwadar.

Solar energy resources are abundant in Pakistan and China is leading in the new energy field, which can help Pakistan meet its energy demands, he said. In response to a query, he stated that he was warmly greeted in Pakistan. Despite many international and internal changes, the two nations' governments and people consistently stand together, he added.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk