Islamabad: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang assured Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that Beijing viewed Pakistan not only as a strategic friend but as a country whose stability and economic welfare were of "utmost importance" to the region and to China.

PM Shehbaz held a comprehensive telephone conversation on Thursday with his Chinese counterpart, in which they discussed a number of issues, a statement from the PM's Office said. The conversation ended on a positive note with the Chinese premier reiterating the importance of Pakistan in the region.

The two leaders’ discussion was characterised by “warmth and cordiality”, in keeping with the traditions of the Pakistan-China All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership. The two premiers exchanged New Year greetings and noted that bilateral relations between the two states had grown to new heights in the outgoing year, the press release mentioned and also stated that the two agreed to maintain the steady momentum of bilateral cooperation in 2023.

During the telephone conversation, “PM underscored Pakistan’s commitment to fostering closer relations with China, and reiterated Pakistan’s unstinting support on China’s core interests,” the press release read. During the course of the conversation, the prime minister broached the topic of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and emphasised Pakistan’s unswerving focus on the timely progress of CPEC projects.  The PM assured his Chinese counterpart that Pakistan would provide a completely secure and conducive business environment for Chinese investors. In his two-day state visit to China in November 2022, PM Shehbaz had been reassured by the Chinese president that China would continue to support Pakistan in stabilising its financial situation.

It was also decided that China and Pakistan would move forward more effectively with the construction of the economic corridor, as well as accelerate the construction of infrastructure for the Gwadar Sea Port. While discussing the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan being held in Geneva on 9 January, PM Shehbaz also briefed Premier Li on the latest progress in post-flood reconstruction and rehabilitation in Pakistan in the aftermath of the devastating monsoon floods that had shaken the country

Published in The Daily National Courier, January, 06 2023

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