LAHORE: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Saturday that China’s $32 billion investment package would usher in a new era of progress and development in Pakistan.
“Pak-China friendship is higher than the Himalayas, deeper than oceans, sweeter than honey and stronger than steel,” he said.
He said China’s investment in Pakistan would strengthen trade relations between the two countries.
He was addressing a function arranged in honour of Sun Weidong, the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan.
Sharif said China had helped Pakistan and its people in times of crises, including earthquakes, floods or other natural calamities.
He said China had supported Pakistan’s position at every international forum.
He mentioned various projects including the Heavy Mechanical Complex, Chashma Nuclear Power Plant and Karakoram Highway.
He said Pakistan would be rid of load-shedding and put on the road to progress through cooperation with China. He said expectations of both the Chinese government and the people of Pakistan would be fulfilled.
He said that China had also supported Pakistan in the defence sector.
Sharif said his recent visit to China had been the most successful of his political career.
He said that Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong had played a key role in the visit’s success. He said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, work would be carried out round the clock on the projects to be implemented with the China. He said energy and infrastructure projects would be completed expediently.
Weidong said Sharif had played a significant role in strengthening friendship between Pakistan and China, and was very active in setting the course of Pak-China cooperation. He said China was ready to help Pakistan become an Asian Tiger. He said the construction of an economic corridor was a very important project, which would provide trade corridors to several countries.
He said cooperation in energy, transport and infrastructure sectors would also result in the increase in trade volume between the two countries. He said three working groups had been formed for the speedy implementation of these projects.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 3rd, 2014.