ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in China on Monday for a two-day official visit, PM Office said.
Khan is visiting Beijing upon the invitation of Prime Minister Li Keqiang and will discuss issues of regional and bilateral significance, including projects under the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with the top Chinese leadership, according to the official handout released by the country’s foreign office earlier in the day.
The premier will hold separate meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and PM Keqiang.
He is accompanied by a high-powered delegation comprising top government officials, including Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Minister for Planning, and Adviser on Commerce and Chairman BOI. Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa is also joining Khan’s meetings with the Chinese leadership, according to the statement.
“The Prime Minister will exchange views on regional developments including the state of peace and security in South Asia arising from the situation in occupied Jammu & Kashmir since 5 August 2019,” the statement added.
The foreign office said that the visit will be instrumental in further cementing Pakistan’s strategic ties with China along with “deepening bilateral trade, a commercial investment partnership.”
During the visit, Khan will interact with senior representatives of the Chinese business and corporate sector.
“Among other things, the Prime Minister will apprise the Chinese leadership of the government’s recent landmark decisions to speed-up implementation of ongoing CPEC projects as well as efforts to project CPEC as a High-Quality Demonstration Project of BRI,” the statement read.
Khan will discuss the expansion of projects under the CPEC framework besides cooperation in agriculture, industrial and socio-economic sectors.
Khusro Bakhtiar, Pakistan’s minister for planning who also oversees CPEC projects, dispelled the impression of a “slowdown” in CPEC.
Bakhtiar said that PM Khan will address during his visit the China-Pakistan Business Forum to further cement economic and trade exchanges between the two countries. He will also meet with Chinese entrepreneurs and heads of different companies during his visit, the minister added.
“Prime Minister’s visit to China is extremely important particularly coming at a point when the two countries have recently signed the second phase of free trade agreement which allows both the countries increased market access and reduced custom duties for their commodities,” Dr. Vaqar Ahmed, senior economist and joint executive director of Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), told Arab News.
“The visit will also pave way for a clearer understanding and way forward for the joint coordination committee of CPEC which will meet soon,” Ahmed said.
Political analyst Rasul Bakhsh Rais said that “China has emerged as the largest investor in strategic sectors of energy, communications, and industrial infrastructure. After stabilizing the economy, Pakistan wants to engage China on joint business ventures, science, and technology, agriculture and railways, also it desires to expedite the ongoing CPEC projects.”
Khan may also seek China’s help in getting relief for the people of Kashmir by lifting of the two-month-long curfew imposed by India on the part of the disputed valley under its administrative control, Rais said.
Pakistan prime minister arrives in China for two-day visit
Pakistan prime minister arrives in China for two-day visit
- PM Khan will discuss regional developments including the situation in Kashmir
- Will apprise the Chinese leadership of efforts to speed-up implementation of ongoing CPEC projects
Pakistan plans $80 million seafood zone at Karachi harbor to target Gulf markets
- Plan aims to move exports away from raw seafood toward higher-value processed products
- Project will be developed under public-private partnership or build-operate-transfer model
KARACHI: Pakistan plans to develop a seafood processing and export zone at Karachi’s Qur’angi Fisheries Harbor that could cost up to $80 million to boost value-added exports and position the country as a supplier to the Gulf and other regional markets, Maritime Affairs Minister Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry said on Saturday.
The proposed 100-acre project aims to shift Pakistan away from exporting raw seafood by building modern processing, cold-chain and packaging infrastructure linked to international buyers, as Islamabad looks to expand its blue economy and deepen maritime trade ties with the region.
In a statement, Chaudhry said the zone would be developed, financed and operated under a public-private partnership or build-operate-transfer (BOT) model, with private investors running the facilities and the Qur’angi Fisheries Harbor Authority retaining regulatory oversight.
“The estimated project cost ranges between $60 million and $80 million, based on regional benchmarks from countries such as Vietnam, China and Ecuador, which have developed similar seafood parks,” Chaudhry said.
He said the facility would include 20 to 25 medium- to large-scale seafood processing units for fish, shrimp and cephalopods, alongside large-scale cold storage, blast freezing, packaging facilities, logistics and export terminals, and a wastewater treatment plant to ensure environmentally compliant operations.
“Packaging and labeling units would operate under international food safety and quality standards, including HACCP and ISO certifications, offering vacuum packing, modified atmosphere packaging and retail-ready solutions,” he said, referring to Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, a preventive food safety system.
ISO certification verifies that a company’s management systems meet international standards.
The minister said the zone would be used exclusively for commercial seafood processing, packaging, cold storage and export-oriented activities, with multi-temperature storage ranging from minus 18 to minus 40 degrees Celsius and ice plants capable of producing 50 to 100 tons daily.
Chaudhry said the preferred investment structure is a BOT concession under which the private partner would finance, develop and operate the project for an expected 20-year tenure, with ownership reverting to the harbor authority at the end of the concession period.
He added that the estimated internal rate of return was projected between 13 percent and 17 percent, with revenue generated through lease rentals, processing fees, logistics services and export-linked earnings.
“The project will position Pakistan as a key maritime trade and seafood export hub serving Gulf, East African and Asian markets,” Chaudhry said.
