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Pakistan's top advisor praises fruit of China-Pakistan parternship

Xinhua, June 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

Progress made in Pakistan's strategic partnership with China has been the most important achievement of the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the country's top foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz said on Thursday.

As the government completed three years of its five year-term this month, the foreign affairs adviser highlighted the three-year achievements of the government and talked about some of the future challenges in a press conference here.

"The most important achievement of the past three years was undoubtedly the path breaking transformation in Pakistan's strategic partnership with China," he said.

"The most visible manifestation of this transformation was the launch, in April 2015, of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) involving Chinese investment of 46 billion U.S. dollars in energy, infrastructure, communication projects and for developing the Gwadar Port," Aziz said.

He was of the view that the CPEC's implementation will lay a solid foundation for enhanced regional trade, integration, connectivity and industrial investment, adding that China has already become Pakistan's largest trading partner with two-way trade at 19 billion US dollars in 2015.

He said formulation of a multi-dimensional implementation plan will be adopted to ensure effective and timely completion of all CPEC projects with full protection to Chinese workers and experts and countering all subversive and negative moves against CPEC.

Aziz said the main focus in the coming two years would be on measures to consolidate the success achieved in eliminating terrorism and extremism through intensify the implementation of a national plan that was launched after the 2014's deadliest terrorist attack on an army-run school in Peshawar.

"These gains will be consolidated to ensure that "no armed militias are allowed to function in the country," the adviser went on to say.

He also said Pakistan will continue and intensify engagement with the U.S. at different levels to achieve the common objectives of durable peace in Afghanistan and sustainable stability in South Asia.

Pakistan will be hosting a South Asian summit in Islamabad in November this year, he said, and added that connectivity agreements among the SARRC countries are under active consideration.

SARRC groups Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Endit