Chinese President, Russian PM, others dignitaries visit Pakistan pavilion at CIIE

SHANGHAI: Chinese President Xi Jinping accompanied by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, and Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat visited Pakistan pavilion at China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai on Monday.  

According to a statement released by the ministry, Prime Minister Imran Khan, members of the Cabinet and CM Balochistan and others welcomed the Chinese president and other world leaders at the Pakistan pavilion.

Secretary Commerce Mohammad Younus Dagha briefed the dignitaries about the theme of the Pavilion which represented five important trade sectors of Pakistan.

He informed that textiles and apparels employ 38% of industrial workforce with 8.5% share in GDP and make up for more than 70% of our exports with leather and made ups, for many international brands.

The fastest growth has been in the garments sector which provides jobs to female workers, he said and added that Pakistan has the privilege of not only having the world renowned sportsmen but also have the distinction of competing in quality and winning the contracts for supply of sports goods for top brands and prestigious events.

The last two FIFA world cups including the one this year in Russia were played with Pakistan made footballs. Younus Dagha said that with the marvelous archeological sites of the world’s oldest civilization in south and the meeting point of the three majestic mountain ranges known as “the roof of the world” in the north, the tourism sector in Pakistan offers unlimited opportunities for the hospitality sector investors.

The new government is improving the policy framework to attract more investments in manufacturing sector to increase our capacity to export, reads the statement.

He told them that while we are exporting the aromatic Basmati rice, the most delicious mangoes and juiciest of mandarins in more than 70 countries, the storage, processing and preservation are the areas where joint ventures and knowledge transfers can bring rapid gains.

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Dagha  said, “Pakistan has one of the smallest carbon footprints (sixth largest population with only 0.4 per cent of world’s carbon dioxide emissions), still we are playing a larger role by first completing the project of one billion tree plantations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province under the leadership of the Prime Minister during the past few years and now a plan for ten billion tree plantations during the next five years.”

The secretary commerce said that the vision of President Xi Jinping, the Belt and Road Initiative, has opened new avenues for the two brotherly countries for mutual cooperation.

President Xi took great interest in the products of Pakistan and appreciated the PM’s  interest in the improvement of the environment and extended his country’s support for the initiative.