Beijing:
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal met Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Minister Sun Weidong on Saturday to discuss the second phase of the China-Pakistani economic corridor (CPEC), according to an official release.
Both officials confirmed their obligation to strengthen bilateral ties with a special focus on industrial development and business-to-business collaboration during CPEC phase II. Iqbal conveyed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s goodwill message to Beijing and praised China’s support under the recent regional tensions.
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“The population of Pakistan is proud of the eternal friendship with the management and people of China,” he said, noting that China’s development model serves as inspiration for Pakistan’s movement against an export -oriented, technology -driven economy.
He emphasized that Pakistan’s Uraan initiative, built around a five ES frame, is consistent with CPEC phase II targets to ensure economic, social and institutional stability through human-centric reforms.
Iqbal emphasized that the development of a skilled, trained workforce and elaboration of B2B collaboration will be key columns in the next CPEC phase. Weidong reiterated China’s strong commitment to expanding collaboration across multiple sectors and praised Iqbal’s leadership role in transforming CPEC from a plan into a multibillion-dollar reality.
