CPEC second phase aims to boost B2B links: Minister

Newswire

Islamabad: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said this week that the focus of second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is promotion of business to business (B2B) links between Pakistan and China.

In a video message ahead of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to China, he maintained that a delegation comprising of 126 Pakistani businessmen was also visiting China.

He stressed that there was a big opportunity for us to export the country’s products to neighboring China. He said Pakistani business delegation will sign investment and export agreements with their Chinese counterparts during the visit.

The Minister for Planning recalled that the first phase of CPEC focused on infrastructure development. He mentioned that this also provided two hundred thousand job opportunities to the youth.

Ahsan Iqbal said the government was focusing all its efforts on ensuring high growth rate on sustainable basis.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif kicked off his five-day visit to China to further enhance ties with the neighbouring country, push forward the development and upgrade of CPEC and expand cooperation in emerging sectors such as new technologies.

The Prime Minister’s first visit to China after starting his second term in March, would elevate mutual trust and push for new cooperation between the two countries to inject strong momentum into CPEC.

The Prime Minister’s official visit to China would last from Tuesday to Saturday, according to an official announcement.

Based on the remarkable achievements of the CPEC in phase one, this visit would lay a solid foundation for both sides to enter into the second phase of the project that is expected to yield the unaccountable economic benefits for Pakistan, Assadi said.