Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Monday said over the last ten years, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) had emerged as a bedrock of Pakistan’s socio-economic trajectory, helping to end crippling energy shortages, building high quality infrastructure, and promoting connectivity and integration not only within the country’s various regions but also with the neighbouring countries.
The prime minister, in a post on his Twitter account, said, “I was greatly delighted to receive Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and the members of his delegation who came to Pakistan to join us in celebrating the Decade of CPEC. As a special envoy of President Xi Jinping, he brought with him a message of abiding friendship with Pakistan and its people.
“For us, CPEC is not merely a collection of different projects but a symbol of prosperity and shared development. It is a reflection of our relentless fight against poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment. While the first phase of CPEC was about fixing the ‘hardware’ side of development, the upcoming second phase will upgrade the ‘software’ of development by focusing on agriculture, science and technology, skill development, innovation, industrialization, economic growth, health and education.
“On this occasion, I would like to pay rich tributes to President Xi Jinping, and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for their pioneering role in conceiving and implementing CPEC as a flagship project of the Belt & Road Initiative. President Xi’s global leadership and vision of shared development is making a huge difference in the betterment of our world, especially the Global South.
“As PM, I am happy to play my humble part in removing all the bottlenecks in the way of CPEC and putting it back on track. Together China and Pakistan will redefine not only the destiny of their people but also of the region.”
