ISLAMABAD: Carr­ying high hopes about the future of the China-Pak­istan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar arrived in Beijing on Monday to participate in the 3rd Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for Inter­national Cooperation.

At the airport, he was received by Chinese Min­ister of Science & Techno­logy Wang Zhigang, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong and Ambassador of Pakistan to China Moinul Haq, the PM’s Office said in a press release.

The prime minister is undertaking the visit at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. He is accompanied by a high-level delegation including members of the cabinet and senior government officials.

Beijing began welcoming on Monday representatives of 130 countries for the summit.

PM Kakar will attend the opening ceremony of the BRF and address the high-level forum titled ‘Conne­ctivity in an Open Global Economy’ to be held on Oct 18. He will hold bilateral meetings with Presi­dent Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and Li Xi, member of the Standing Committee of Politburo of CPC Central Committee.

The leaders will discuss all facets of bilateral relations, with particular focus on strengthening trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. They will exchange views on major regional and global developments.

He will also meet leading Chinese entrepreneurs and preside over an interactive roundtable on the CPEC to explore new avenues for strengthening trade and investment ties between Pakistan and China.

To further strengthen regional connectivity, trade, investment and people-to-people contact between the neighbouring regions of Pakistan and China, Mr Kakar will pay a two-day visit to Urumqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.

In Urumqi, he will meet the local leadership and business persons, and deliver a speech at Xinjiang University.

10 years of CPEC

“The visit of the prime minister comes in the backdrop of ongoing celebrations marking the 10 years of the CPEC, the flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI),” the press release said.

“The CPEC has transformed the socio-economic landscape of Pakistan, upgrading modern infrastructure, enhancing regional connectivity, ensuring energy security, and creating jobs,” the caretaker premier wrote in his article published in Global Times.

As the flagship project of the BRI, he said, the CPEC marks a milestone in Pakistan-China relations by placing “economic cooperation and connectivity at the very centre of the bilateral agenda”, making the two countries more interconnected.

“We fully endorse China’s proposal of developing the CPEC as a corridor of growth, livelihood, innovation, greenness, and openness — representing our two countries’ preference for a human-centric approach, inclusivity, and green development,” he said.

The caretaker PM said Pakistan was a pioneering member of the “Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative proposed by President Xi and played an active role in giving it a more concrete shape”.

Mr Kakar said in a world marred by multiple challenges like conflicts, economic recessions, food insecurity, social inequalities, and climate change, the salience of the Pakistan-China all-weather strategic cooperative partnership assumed great importance.

He thanked China for its support for Pakistan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and economic security, and its principled support on the issue of Kashmir.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2023