ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday oversaw the signing of multiple agreements between Pakistan and China in the fields of agriculture, logistics, digital and green economy, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said in a statement. 

The memorandums of agreement were signed during the third 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.

“Pakistan and China on Thursday signed multiple Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to enhance bilateral cooperation in agriculture, labor-intensive manufacturing industry, digital economy, green economy and logistic ecosystem,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said. 

PM Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar attended the ceremony, where the agreements were signed between Pakistan’s Board of Investment (BoI) and several Chinese entities.

Sharif and Dar both spoke about the importance of China’s outward-looking global economic policies, the capacity of Chinese enterprises to invest in the global market and the matching potential of Pakistan’s domestic market.

“He highlighted the supportive environment in Pakistan for Chinese businesses interested in relocating industries from China,” APP said. 

The development takes place a day after Pakistan and China signed 32 memorandums of agreement in the fields of IT, textiles, leather and footwear, minerals, pharmaceuticals and agriculture and food processing. It was termed as a “historic” moment by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Sharif’s visit to China takes place amid Pakistan’s push to attract foreign investment in key economic sectors to stabilize its fragile $350 billion economy. The Pakistani prime minister has repeatedly said Islamabad seeks regional cooperation for “mutual benefits” with its allies and not just loans. 

The South Asian country narrowly avoided a sovereign default last year when it clinched a last-gasp $3 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Islamabad views Beijing as one of its most reliable foreign partners in recent years, which has invested over $60 billion in energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).