BEIJING, Oct 15: Pakistan and China signed here on Wednesday 12 agreements, memorandums of understanding and protocols to enhance cooperation on a sound footing in various sectors, including infrastructure, information technology, energy, telecommunication, agriculture, industry, minerals, trade, disaster relief and space technology.

The signing ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People was witnessed by President Asif Ali Zardari and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao after an hour-long one-to-one interaction between the two leaders and two hours of talks between delegations.

A joint statement will be issued on Thursday.

President Hu Jintao hosted a banquet in honour of President Zardari and his delegation after the delegation-level parleys and the agreement-signing ceremony.

During their talks, both sides agreed to strengthen strategic partnership in all sectors, reinvigorate the multi-faceted bilateral relations, intensify economic cooperation and foster people-to-people contacts.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Masood Khan told media personnel after the signing ceremony that the talks laid stress on fostering economic cooperation on a strong footing.

President Hu Jintao and President Zardari expressed satisfaction over the growth of Pakistan-China relations and agreed that their friendship had emerged stronger with every important change in the international, regional and domestic environment.

According to a press release issued, the two leaders stressed the need for reinforcing efforts for “deepening the Pakistan-China strategic partnership in new circumstances”.

The two sides decided to accelerate the implementation of

the Five-Year Development Programme on Economic Cooperation.

President Hu Jintao reiterated China’s support for Pakistan’s efforts to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity. He condemned recent terrorist atttacks in Pakistan and appreciated sacrifices rendered by Pakistan in its struggle against global terrorism.

Reiterating Pakistan’s desire for strong and long-term relationship with China, President Zardari reaffirmed Pakistan’s resolve to continue its fight against terrorism and extremism. He said the fight was in Pakistan’s own interest, adding that terrorism threatened the country’s stability.

Investment incentives

Earlier, during a luncheon meeting with over 200 top corporate executives at the State Guest House, President Zardari offered ‘special preferential treatment’ to Chinese investors and urged them to invest in Pakistan and benefit from its geo-strategic location.

“With a well-placed geographical location, Pakistan has to offer you the investor-friendly environment, laws and legislation, human capital and other resources,” he told the executives.

He said his visit was reflective of the deep-rooted, strong and historic 40-year ties between the two countries.

He said Pakistan provided ample opportunities for investment in trade, industry, financial services, banking, energy, construction, real estate and tourism sectors and Chinese companies were welcome to invest in these fields to help develop the country’s untapped potential.

The president said that with half of the world population living in China and Saarc countries, the increased China-Pakistan cooperation could promote development and prosperity in the region.

He said Pakistan’s location at the confluence of South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East and its vast coastline provided a trade and energy corridor to many regional countries.

Mr Zardari said that all possible facilities would be provided to Chinese investors and a special cell would be set up for development of Pakistan-China industrial and economic zones across the country.—APP

Key agreements

• Agreement on economic and technical cooperation;

• Amending protocol to Free Trade Agreement;

• Framework agreement to set up $300 million National Electronics Complex in Pakistan;

• Framework agreement on mineral cooperation;

• MoU on cooperation in petroleum and natural resources;

• Agreement on environmental protection;

• Framework agreement for cooperation in the field of radio and television;

• Paksat-IR Satellite procurement contract;

• MoU on scientific collaboration in agricultural research and technical cooperation, and;

• MoU on cooperation between China’s Cricket Association and the Pakistan Cricket Board.