Islamabad: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said that Special Economic Zones (SEZs) will provide an opportunity for Chinese investments to take advantage of incentives that Pakistan offers to foreign investment with concessions.

"We are working on nine special economic zones. First Rashakai Special Economic Zone will be inaugurated later this month. Similarly, other economic zones are also in advanced stages, in Sindh, Punjab, and Baluchistan," he told APP during his recent visit to China.

Pakistan, he said also has great advantage in low cost of labour. As in China, many industries are experiencing high costs of production due to increased levels of cost and are now moving to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Pakistan also has great advantage in terms of low cost of production.

He said Pakistan has very good infrastructure and then it has China-Pakistan Economic Corridor framework. So, it becomes a very attractive destination for Chinese enterprises to relocate to these economic zones in Pakistan.

About specific Chinese companies who are looking forward to cooperating in this regard, he said, there are many Chinese companies which are coming. Many have invested in Gwadar free zone.

"But, we are now really looking forward to developing our agriculture sector based on new technologies. We are seeking cooperation to upgrade quality of our seeds so those companies which have research and seed development can help us," he added.

Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan is looking for new irrigation technologies to conserve water and bring efficiency to agriculture, adding, "We are also looking for food processing industry that has great opportunity."

Regarding great opportunity in the mining sector, he said, Pakistan has huge marble deposits, which can be tapped with new technology and similarly, Pakistan has other mines like lithium and other material which is used in electric vehicles.

He said Pakistan is looking for joint cooperation and technology, particularly information technology. Pakistan has young population with very good IT skills.

Minister said big Chinese real estate companies can come and invest in housing sector and added, "We have huge shortage of housing so they can come and address urban housing issues with investments. We are offering very attractive terms for public-private partnership."

Responding to question about security of CPEC projects, he said, government is taking extra precautions for security of Chinese.

He stressed need to work together and only way to defeat such evil designs is to be not stopped by any unpleasant incident. About kind of measures that have been taken to protect Chinese enterprise, he said, special force of 10,000 personnel has been created which is totally dedicated to security of CPEC projects.