Pakistan welcomes construction of other ports in region: minister

He said the convoys that will ply a trade on the corridor project will not conquer other countries but help provide basic amenities of life to the people. This road of peace will sprout the springs of development in the region.

He was addressing a seminar titled ‘Pakistan China Iron Brothers’ organized by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting  at Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation in Islamabad today.

Rashid said that the construction of ports and road infrastructure in the region will bring the people closer to each other. He said these mega projects will steer the region out of poverty and backwardness and bring prosperity in the lives of the people.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has said that China Pakistan Economic Corridor project has brought Pak-China relations from geo strategic orbit to geo-economics orbit -the element which was ignored in the past.

He said this is not a bilateral project but three billion people of the region will accrue benefit from it. Over the last three years, China has become the leading country in terms of foreign direct investment in Pakistan.

In his remarks, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Sun Weidong said that relations between the two countries have grown from strength to strength over the past 65 years.

He said both the countries take this relationship as priority of the diplomacy. We regard each other as equal partners and reliable friends. He said both the countries respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.