President Zardari welcomes Shanghai Electric to Pakistan

SHANGHAI: In the wake of strengthening Energy collaboration with China, President Asif Ali Zardari, on his official visit to China, met with Chairman Wu Lei of Shanghai Electric, and invited the company to boost its investment in Pakistan, ARY News reported.

According to the reports, President Asif Zardari invited the company to escalate its investments in Pakistan’s transmission and distribution infrastructure, stressing the importance of updating the national network to meet future requirements.

The session was to highlight Pakistan’s commitment to deepening energy collaboration with Chinese enterprises.

The meeting was held at the headquarters of Shanghai Electric, where the President Asif Zardari was given a briefing on the company’s running projects in Pakistan, including the work being done in Thar coal, nuclear energy, and coal-fired power generation.

Asif Zardari lauded Shanghai Electric’s key role in addressing the energy needs of Pakistan, which is another step in Energy collaboration with China, and acknowledged China’s contributions to employment generation and socio-economic development.

The President assured that any issues would be resolved through cooperation. He also ensured that Chinese workers would have a conducive and peaceful environment, following the CEO of Shanghai Electric’s appreciation for the security arrangements provided to their employees in Pakistan.

The First Lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and other senior officials were also part of the meeting.

Along with the meeting on Energy collaboration with China, President Asif Zardari also oversaw a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a coal gasification plant in Thar, Sindh, marking a significant step toward energy diversification and agricultural support.

Earlier, President Asif Ali Zardari travelled from Chengdu to Mianyang by a high-speed train, covering the journey in around half an hour.

During the journey, the president was briefed on the train’s operations, service, safety systems and environmental advantages, the President Secretariat Press Wing said in a press release.