PM's China visit to give new dimension to bilateral ties: Iqbal

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s China visit will give a new dimension to Pakistan-China bilateral relations, Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Monday.

Talking to media, Ahsan Iqbal here said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be the first foreign leader visiting China after re-election of President Xi Jinping for his third term in the office.

CPEC project is inevitable for the progress and prosperity, it has to be diverted towards industrial cooperation, federal minister said.

“No industrial zone planned under the CPEC completed during the PTI tenure,” he said. “China’s economic development is based on its industrial progress, now industrial cooperation will be promoted under the CPEC,” planning minister said. “It will bring new opportunities for jobs and employment,” he said.

Ahsan Iqbal said that China has turned the dream of Thar Coal Project into reality and 5,000-megawatt power projects completed under the CPEC.

“PTI government had stopped the CPEC, and no investment made for CPEC in last four years,” federal minister said. “Now the CPEC projects kept in the cold storage being activated,” he said.

“The work on transmission line from Panjgur to Gwadar’s coastal area, has been underway and this transmission line will be laid by March,” Ahsan Iqbal said.

“Frozen funds for Gwadar University have been restored,” he said. ”

The Pak-China Business and Investment Forum considered over the CPEC projects,” Iqbal said. “A communique with regard to the decisions made in the session will be released soon,” he added.