Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister (PM) Anwaarul Haq Kakar encouraged Chinese businesses to invest in solar parks there on Tuesday in an effort to lower the nation’s reliance on imported energy.
PM invites Chinese companies to invest: These comments were given by the acting prime minister during a discussion with leaders of renowned think tanks and academics in China.
For the third Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for International Cooperation, he arrived in Beijing on Monday.
PM Kakar advocated for expanding energy ties between Gilgit and the Xingiang region and asked Chinese businesses to invest in Pakistan’s solar parks as part of green technology.
Investments in solar parks, according to the interim premier, will have two advantages: “On the one hand, they will support Pakistan’s efforts to combat climate change and also help reduce energy import bill.”
He mentioned that Pakistan was already making efforts to increase the proportion of renewable energy sources in its energy mix to as much as 65% by 2030.
The project, according to Kakar, represents the concerted efforts of the two nations to bring their economic and trade connections on par with one another. Kakar described CPEC as the expression of Pak-China strategic collaboration.
In addition, according to PM Kakar, the CPEC has improved Pakistan’s contemporary infrastructure, improved regional connectivity, and ensured energy security.
He said that since the project’s inception in 2015, when President Xi Jinping made his historic trip to Pakistan, it has added 800 km of roads, generated 8,000 megawatts of electricity, and generated 0.2 million new jobs.
He expressed certainty that the CPEC would usher in a new age of progress and regional prosperity as a project of socio-economic success and sustainable development.
The vice president of China described five areas of comprehensive development, including growth, livelihood, innovation, greenness, and openness, during his visit to Pakistan in August, the prime minister remembered.
He suggested that the next stage of CPEC should involve greater economic integration in order to maximise development potential for the two nations.
Due to his Balochistani heritage, Kakar claimed to be aware of the region’s potential and stated that “in collaboration with China, we are poised to unlock opportunities of progress and regional connectivity in Gwadar.”
He stated that he would talk with stakeholders about potential to foster closer collaboration with the Chinese in a variety of industries during his future trip to Urumqi, China.
According to PM Kakar, Pakistan’s massive youth population might boost the economy if given the chance to do so in addition to learning from China’s example.
He declared that Pakistan valued its strong relationships with China and would not allow anything to damage them.
The prime minister highlighted the significance of looking back on the trip thus far, highlighting the successes, assessing the lessons learned, and outlining a blueprint for the upcoming phase of high-quality growth of the project as he noted the development of CPEC over the last ten years.
The two parties have decided to turn the CPEC into a corridor of development, livelihood, innovation, openness, and green growth, he added. Chinese academics and intellectuals emphasised the value and relevance of CPEC as a big collaboration between China and Pakistan under BRI in their statements.
Additionally, they underlined Chinese businesses’ continuous desire to participate in Pakistan’s Special Economic Zones and make a positive difference for the CPEC’s expansion, improved regional connectivity, and sustainable development.
The roundtable participants agreed that CPEC may become a hub for regional trade and connectivity as well as a bridge for people-to-people interactions via joint efforts of the two countries.