ISLAMABAD: A meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) on Friday honoured the outgoing Ambassador of China Sun Weidong with a presentation of a special plaque in recognition of his services to CPEC and strengthening Pakistan-China ‘all weather friendship’.
The meeting was held in Parliament House with Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed in the chair.
He praised the services and contribution of Ambassador Sun Weidong during his four year tenure, marked by the launch and successful implementation of the CPEC.
Sayed also referred to the contribution of the ambassador’s father, who served in the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan from 1952-58, and said their family had served Pakistan-China friendship from ‘generation to generation’.
The chairman said there was a complete national consensus on CPEC amongst all the political forces and provinces of Pakistan because CPEC benefits Pakistan and its people who had now taken ownership of it as a guarantor of their better tomorrow.
In his address, Ambassador Sun Weidong said that Pakistan-China people to people exchanges were already being broadened and more than two hundred thousand visitors from both countries visited each other in 2016. “There are 22,000 Pakistani students studying in China, including five thousand on official scholarships,” he said.
Ambassador Weidong also referred to the 19 Early Harvest Projects, particularly those in the energy sector, which would contribute 1,820 MWs of electricity after November 2017.
“Thanks to CPEC, surplus power will be produced. So, one result of CPEC is already evident. It has helped to resolve Pakistan’s chronic electric power shortage. Plans are afoot for the convening of the 7th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC), which is the apex decision making body on CPEC,” he said.
Among the projects will be metro bus projects in all provincial capitals, construction of Gwadar International Airport, upgradation of Pakistan railway line between Karachi and Peshawar and the building of nine industrial parks would be on agenda for further discussion.
Another result of CPEC, mentioned by Ambassador Sun Weidong, was that prior to CPEC, Pakistan’s growth rate was an annual 3.6%, but now with CPEC underway, it had gone up to 5.3% despite many challenges. Sixty thousand job opportunities have also been created by Chinese companies for Pakistanis.
Responding to a question of Mehmood Achakzai about the leadership role of China in the Asian century as a peacemaker in the region, the ambassador said that peace was like oxygen, fresh air, for development. “That is why China believes in partnership, dialogue and cooperation in promoting connectivity among countries and all issues left over by history, like Kashmir, need to be resolved through dialogue and negotiations. Terrorism is the common enemy of humanity and we must confront this menace collectively,” he said.
The meeting was attended by Rana Muhammad Afzal, Isphanyar M Bhandara, Ghous Bux Khan Mahar, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Senator Lt Gen (r) Salahuddin Tirmizi, Senator Shibli Faraz, Senator Talha Mehmood and Senator Mir Kabeer Ahmed.
Published in Daily Times, October 7th 2017.
