China's direct investment in Pakistan way more than other countries: Asad Umar

ISLAMABAD: The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is an important project in the backdrop of our friendly ties and we shall not back an inch from this friendship no matter how much pressure is built, said Thursday planning minister Asad Umar during a presser, ARY News reported.

Holding a joint press conference with CPEC chairman Khalid Mansoor after chairing the 10^th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC), the federal minister said we have pledged to go on with CPEC just like the Pak-China ties.

China is like a friend who always helps Pakistan but never brags about it, Asad Umar said. “Just look at the quantum of its foreign direct investments in Pakistan in comparison with all the other countries.”

The planning minister said that the cooperation between China and Pakistan in CPEC has successfully stood test of time during the pandemic.

“Work on all CPEC projects continued mainly due to the resolute commitment of the top leadership of both the countries,” Umar said.

He also said that no matter how close are the ties the two countries enjoy, China has never asked Pakistan for any undue favours whereas Pakistan has suffered the most from its alliance with the US in the war on terror, he said.

ECC okays 50,000 ton sugar import, salary budget for PSM employees

Separately today, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) meeting chaired by finance minister Shaukat Tarin has approved an Rs11 billion budget for the years 2021-22 remunerations of Pakistan Steel Mills employees.

The ECC meeting scheduled today was centred around an 8-point agenda one of them being the import of sugar to meet the demands of the basic utility. An import of 50,000 ton of sugar in three stages.

Another item on the agenda is Kamyab Pakistan Program which shall kick start in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan first.