Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister, Sun Weidong agreed to further enhance cooperation under CPEC as both held a bilateral meeting on Tuesday in Beijing. The Planning Minister was accompanied by the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Finance, Tariq Bajwa, Ambassador Moin ul Haque and Embassy officials. The meeting was marked by traditional sentiments of warmth and mutual trust, that form the hallmark of China-Pakistan ties. Acknowledging the timeless and time-tested nature of the bilateral friendship, the two sides reaffirmed the centrality of the ‘All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership’ between the two countries. The two sides reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including cooperation under China-Pakistan Economic Cooperation (CPEC), trade, economic and financial cooperation, cultural exchanges, and people-to-people ties, and reaffirmed their resolve to further strengthen cooperation on multilateral fora. The minister thanked the Chinese side for its critical support to Pakistan to ease the country’s economic difficulties and amidst Covid-19 pandemic. He also conveyed gratitude for China's generous support for the recent unprecedented floods in Pakistan. Noting the completion of one decade of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and CPEC in July this year, the minister expressed the government's resolve to mark this milestone in a befitting manner. He lauded the transformational impact of CPEC on Pakistan’s socioeconomic landscape and for improving the livelihood of the people. The progress on various CPEC projects was reviewed, many of which would be completed this year. The two sides agreed to make CPEC the best example of high-quality development under BRI and exchanged views on expansion of CPEC to third countries. Both sides agreed that high-level exchanges had always been a hallmark of the bilateral ties and agreed to further build upon the momentum. The two sides also agreed to enhance people-to-people exchanges in the ongoing year of China-Pakistan Tourism Exchanges.
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