ISLAMABAD, Dec. 28 (INP) - Friendship and enhanced partnership with Iron Brother China will remain the top priority of Pakistan’s foreign policy in the year 2021, the country’s top diplomat said.

Speaking to Gwadar Pro, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Iron Brother China was a ‘permanent special part’ of Pakistan’s foreign policy.

“China is our great friend. We already have very close ties but we will try to make it even more fruitful in 2021. China is always on our top priorities list. This trend will never change. Every year, we (Pakistan and China) will only enhance cooperation,” he said.

According to the Foreign Minister, during the last decades, Pakistan and China had come very close diplomatically, strategically and in the business sector.

“We are already cooperating in all sectors. In 2021, we will try to enhance trade relations and try to complete the CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) projects on time,” he added.

FM Qureshi said the whole country was unanimous on Pakistan-China ties. “On China (ties), the whole country is one unit. There is never any question about it. All parties have the same point of view and all of them want to see the two Iron Brothers grow together,” he maintained.

In recent years, Pakistan-China relations witnessed a qualitative transformation as the bilateral ties expanded from defence to the economic sphere.

The cooperation under the framework of CPEC is increasing China’s investments in Pakistan’s energy and infrastructure sectors. Expanded avenues of bilateral cooperation have led to the emergence of new dynamics in bilateral relations.

With increased inter-dependence, both countries are also navigating major power international politics.

Beijing and Islamabad have increased their coordination for peace and stability in Afghanistan as well as at the multilateral forums including the United Nations (UN) and Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Pakistan-China relations have been resilient for decades despite monumental shifts and transformations in the geostrategic landscape of South Asia.

Islamabad-Beijing ties have maintained their strategic direction and stability due to the convergence of interests and mutual trust.

With the commencement of development work under CPEC, a flagship project of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), both countries also increased their strategic coordination and converged on emerging issues in the regional security environments and at multilateral forums.

In recent years CPEC-centric cooperation has been the focus of scholarly debate and analysis. Beijing has repeatedly emphasized that the Pakistan-China relationship was a ‘model inter-state relationship’ to be emulated by other states.

INP/javed