Government making all out efforts for active implementation of CPEC : PM Nawaz Sharif

Lahore : Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif Saturday said that his government was making all out efforts for active implementation of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) though it had made good progress in execution of energy and infrastructure projects. “China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a core component of your visionary initiative of the “One Belt-One Road.”

On his arrival at Great Hall of China, the prime minster was received by President Xi warmly. During the meeting, Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif was also present along with Chief Ministers of three provinces. Prominent federal ministers such as Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq, State Minister for IT Anusha Rehman and Advisor to PM on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz also comprised the prime minister’s delegation.

President Xi Jinping was also accompanied by his high level nine-member delegation. The prime minister, who short earlier met his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang also stressed for accelerating the implementation of projects in Gwadar and establishment of Special Economic and Industrial Zones. Prime Minister Sharif said the composition of his delegation represented the strong bonds of friendship between the two countries. “The presence of all four provincial chief ministers symbolizes the broad-based support in Pakistan for cooperation with China and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor,” he remarked. He said Pakistan stood with China for promotion of President Xi Jinping’s visionary initiative of One Belt and One Road (OBOR) The prime minister congratulated President Xi on successful holding of the Belt and Road Forum and said that the participation of a large number of world leaders in Chinese capital was a testimony of his leadership and China’s growing stature in the international community.

In his remarks, President Xi Jinping welcomed the prime minister and his delegation for attending the Forum. He expressed his satisfaction over the pace of growing bilateral ties and resolved to cement the ties further by enhancing cooperation in multiple spheres. He said that the two countries had more potential to strengthen bilateral cooperation vis-a-vis implementation of CPEC and other regional connectivity projects.

PM lauds Chinese cooperation to help Pakistan cope with energy crisis. Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Saturday spoke high of the cooperation by Chinese government as well the China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) to help Pakistan cope with energy crisis through building power generation projects.

Addressing the Bhasha Project Conference held by National Energy Administration here, the Prime Minister said the NEA had been an effective and reliable partner in its fight to cope with energy crisis.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah, Chief Minister Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Pervaiz Khattak and Chief Minister Balochistan Sanaullah Khan Zehri, besides Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq, State Minister for IT Anusha Rehman and Advisor to PM on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz.

The Prime Minister thanked the NEA for hosting an extremely important and strategic session for Bhasha Dam, a project of critical importance for the future of Pakistan. He apprised the audience comprising heads of various power sector firms that a 300 Mega Watt solar power project and two wind power projects of 50 Mega Watts each had already started power production. Similarly, the Sahiwal coal-fired power project was ahead of schedule and its first unit of 660 mega watts was expected to come in production in the month of June. The first unit of the Port Qasim coal-fired project was also moving at a high pace and was expected to become operational by this November.

For economic development and long-term prosperity, Pakistan not only required support in the energy sector, but it also needed mega initiatives to improve its water storage capacity. Therefore, development of the North Indus Cascade is a major focus of my Government, and the construction of the Bhasha Dam is the single most important initiative in this behalf. He said water and food security was of paramount importance for Pakistan keeping in view the challenges posed by climate change. At the conference, the heads  and representatives of power sector companies in China gave presentations on their study of the Bhasha Dam project and called for a deeper study on the project owing to its crucial nature for Pakistan. Later, the Prime Minister also witnessed the signing of an MoU regarding roadmap for power projects under CPEC that was signed by Secretary Water & Power and Chinese Ambassador in Pakistan Sun Weidong.