Chinese delegation arrives today

ISLAMABAD: On the invitation of Pakistan-China Institute (PCI) Chairman Mushahid Hussain, a Chinese delegation led by the joint China-Pakistan think tank of Research and Development International (RDI) Chairwoman Zhao Baige, China’s Foreign Affairs Committee of National People’s Congress vice-chairman and former ministers will arrive on Monday (today). The purpose of the delegation’s visit is to introduce RDI, a think tank jointly launched by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), to Pakistani policy-makers and parliamentarians. The PCI and China Institute for Reform and Development (CIRD) in China on April 15 decided to promote policy research on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). During the visit, the two sides are likely to announce an ‘Information Corridor’, a special web portal and data pool of information on the CPEC. The delegation is likely to call on the prime minister, Senate chairman, Finance and Planning ministers and chief ministers of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa and Punjab and parliamentarians, read a press release. “The Information Corridor will serve to support the CPEC as a one-window hub where information and data regarding the CPEC, its progress along the designated route, its documentation, its maps, photo bank, stories about various projects, employment opportunities and involvement of local communities along the Economic Corridor, could be easily accessed by presenting it in a professional manner,” said Mushahid Hussain. He emphasised the need to promote consensus through consultation and to ensure transparency so that the CPEC becomes a major factor for uniting the federation through shared progress and prosperity, with planned development of the less developed areas of Pakistan. He said that the new Joint China-Pakistan think tank would also cater to provide information to meet the needs of Pakistani and Chinese enterprises operating in Pakistan on projects under the CPEC; including projects to address environment and climate change, joint research in cotton, agriculture, IT, infrastructure, Gwadar Port, industrial parks, marine and fisheries research and media-to-media cooperation between China and Pakistan. “It is important to build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in an environmentally-friendly manner,” he added. The PCI, also hosting Pakistan secretariat of the RDI, would plan a number of initiatives with RDI so that that this think tank platform promotes the CPEC in an effective way.

Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk

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