PM asks for swift follow-up on China visit MoUs in meeting with Chinese envoy

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for immediate follow-up on the memoranda of understanding signed during his recent visit to China, as he met Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong at the Prime Minister House on Wednesday, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.

The PMO said the Chinese envoy congratulated the premier on Eidul Azha, while the prime minister thanked him for his efforts in making the China visit successful in every respect. During the meeting, Mr Sharif reaffirmed his commitment to further strengthening the Pakistan-China All Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership and stressed the need to begin implementation steps on decisions taken during the visit without delay.

According to the statement, the prime minister placed particular emphasis on broadening cooperation under CPEC 2.0, especially in agriculture, information technology, industry including special economic zones, and mines and minerals. He also said both sides now needed to work together to deliver on the decisions made by the leadership of the two countries.

The PMO said the meeting also covered the fast-tracking of the Karakoram Highway realignment project, as well as the expansion of cooperation in security, counter-terrorism and defence. Economic and financial support also came under discussion, the statement added.

Agreements signed during China visit

On May 24 in Hangzhou, the prime minister chaired the opening session of the third Pakistan-China Business-to-Business Investment Conference, which focused on charging infrastructure, battery energy storage, solar technologies and pharmaceuticals. At that conference, agreements and MoUs worth more than $7 billion were signed between Pakistani and Chinese participants to promote investment and cooperation across multiple sectors.

Pakistan and China maintain longstanding strategic ties spanning trade, energy, defence and infrastructure. This year marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and commemorative events have been held in both Pakistan and China.

During his visit, the prime minister described the relationship as 75 years of glorious partnership and credited the countries’ founding leaders for building it over more than seven decades.

Referring to the bilateral relationship during the visit, he said:

The credit goes to our founding fathers who worked very hard to build this relationship over the last more than seven decades.