BEIJING, JAN.16 (INP): China and Pakistan agreed to organize cultural and tourism activities, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

According to Gwadar Pro, Pakistani Ambassador Moin ul Haque held a meeting with Zhang Xu, Vice-Minister of Culture and Tourism at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China.

During the meeting, the two sides reviewed on-going cooperation in the fields of culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges and vowed to further deepen their bilateral engagements in the future.

Expressing satisfaction with the steady development of bilateral cultural ties, both sides noted that the all-weather friendship between Pakistan and China provided a strong foundation for further enhancing bilateral engagements in domains of culture, media cooperation, and heritage protection.

They agreed that both countries should make optimum use of existing linkages to deepen bilateral cultural exchanges and also institutionalize new mechanisms for coordinated and wide-ranging development of ties in relevant fields.

In this regard, the expansion of bilateral tourism could become a new area of cooperation between Pakistan and China.

Zhang Xu said that China is willing to work with Pakistan to successfully organize cultural and tourism activities for the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations under the background of the COVID-19 epidemic, further implement the bilateral cultural and tourism cooperation agreement, and give full play to the role of Pakistan's Chinese Cultural Center.

He further said that the all-weather strategic partnership between China and Pakistan has maintained a high level of development and has become a model for building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Zhang added that the two countries have achieved fruitful results in mutually beneficial cooperation in cultural, art, and people-to-people exchanges.

The Ambassador briefed Zhang Xu about Pakistan’s history, diverse cultural heritages, cuisine, beautiful landscapes, and monuments which could attract a large number of Chinese tourists in the future.

He updated the Vice Minister about the Government of Pakistan’s special initiatives for attracting international tourists to the country.

Haque also informed him about the Embassy’s Tourism Initiative, under which a new tourism website in the Chinese language has been developed and would be launched soon.

Both sides also discussed the celebratory events to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties in 2021.

They agreed that relevant departments of the two governments should make the best preparations for anniversary celebrations and celebrate it as befitting the rich history of the Pakistan-China friendship.

In this regard, Vice-Minister Zhang assured the Ambassador complete support and assistance of the Chinese Ministry of Culture and its relevant departments.

INP/javed