Chinese VFM, Pakistani FS inaugurate CPEC Corner at Pakistani MoFA library
Celina Ali
Islamabad: Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong and Pakistani Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi this week inaugurated the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Corner at the library of Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) here in Islamabad.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong was on a visit to Islamabad.
Speaking on the occasion, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister said that as Iron Brother and trusted friend, China attached special importance to Pakistan in its foreign policy and looked forward to further strengthening strategic ties between the two countries.
Thanking Pakistan’s support to China on its core issues, Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong reaffirmed China’s support for Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and for Pakistan’s economic development, progress and prosperity.
Welcoming Vice Foreign Minister Sun to Pakistan, the Foreign Secretary said that Pakistan-China friendship enjoyed complete political, institutional and public support in Pakistan.
Underscoring the salience of bilateral friendship for regional peace and stability, he expressed Pakistan’s readiness to further expand and strengthen bilateral ties in all areas of cooperation.
Earlier in the day, Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, arrived in Islamabad to attend the 4th meeting of CPEC-Joint Working Group on International Cooperation and Coordination scheduled on January 20 (Sunday) in Islamabad. Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi will co-chair the meeting with the Chinese Vice Foreign Minister. VFM Sun Weidong is also expected to meet the senior leadership of Pakistan.
Pakistan and China’s trade ties are on positive trajectory these days as Pakistan’s export of goods and services to China witnessed an increase of 39.44 percent during the first five months of the current fiscal year (2023-24) as compared to the exports of the corresponding period of last year.
The overall exports to China were recorded at US $1223.532 million during July-November (2023-24) against exports of US $877.444 million during July-November (2022-23), official data revealed.
On a year-to-year basis, the exports to China also surged by 36.29 per cent from $199.058 million in November 2022, against the exports of $271.316 million in November 2023.
Overall Pakistan’s exports to other countries witnessed an increase of 4.99 per cent in the first five months, from US $11.915 billion to US $12.510 billion.
China has invested billions of dollars under the CPEC in Pakistan and provided jobs to thousands of Pakistanis across the country. The mega project promises to develop every sector of Pakistan with the help of all-weather friend China.
