ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China on Wednesday signed 32 memorandums of agreement in the fields of IT, textiles, leather and footwear, minerals, pharmaceuticals and agriculture and food processing, a statement from the prime minister’s office said.
The agreements were signed during the second day of PM Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to China from June 4-8 as the South Asian nation pushes to bring in much needed foreign direct investment.
The focus of Sharif’s visit is business-to-business meetings and efforts to seek an upgrade for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, through which Beijing has pledged over $60 billion in Pakistan since 2015.
“A historic moment between private sectors of Pakistan and China was observed today when 32 MoUs in different fields were signed on the sidelines of the Pakistan Business Conference in Shenzhen after the B2B (business to business) meetings between the Pakistani businessmen and their counterparts from China,” the PMO said.
“The areas of interest for the business community of both sides included the fields of electronics & home appliances, ICT, textile, leather & footwear, minerals and pharmaceuticals etc.”
The private sectors of both countries signed four MoUs in the field of energy, two in automobiles, one in cultural cooperation, four in IT, six in pharmaceutical and health care, four in logistics and ten in agriculture and food processing. A Letter of Intent (LoI) in the field of Optical Fibre Networks was also signed.
“Business Conference Shenzhen 2024 will not only pave the ground for the introduction of Pakistani products in the regional markets, but it will also leave a positive impact of strong regional government-business relations on Pakistan economy’s strategic transformations,” the PMO said. “An unprecedented next level industrial cooperation between the two nations is expected out of this B2B initiative of the government.”
“Many businesses sat together and participation took place,” National Bank of Pakistan President Rehmat Ali Shamsi, who is part of the delegation visiting China, told state media. “Plus, many MOUs were also signed.”
Additional Secretary of the Board of Investment, Dr. Erfa Iqbal, said the Pakistani delegation was expecting “high-level industrial corporation” from China to help in increasing exports, making way for local products to reach international markets.
“This will also strengthen CPEC in the second phase,” she added.
