Islamabad (October 13, 2018): Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain says the government will welcome investment of European countries in projects related to CPEC.
He was speaking at a reception hosted by Spanish Embassy in Islamabad to celebrate National Day of Spain.
The Information Minister invited people from all friendly countries for a visit to Pakistan for business and tourism. He said Spanish companies are welcome to invest in energy, infrastructure and tourism projects in Pakistan.
He said Pakistan looks forward to deepen its partnership with Spain for the achievement of its objectives of peace, prosperity and development.
The Spanish ambassador said his country wants to boost relations with Pakistan in the fields of trade and investment.
Meanwhile, talking to Ambassador of France Marc Barety in Islamabad, the Information Minister emphasized the need for extending ties between the two countries from trade and economic domain to cooperation in the field of culture, film, and education.
The minister sought French scholarships for Pakistani students especially in the realm of mass media.
He said the government has envisaged to establish a media university by merging Pakistan Television and Radio Pakistan academies to impart training and skills to media persons and engineers in both creative expressions and technical aspects.
The French ambassador informed the Minister that his government is working to relax its travel advisory allowing its nationals to visit Pakistan in wake of the improved security situation.
Earlier on October 10, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing had said that China had no objection to Saudi Arabia investing in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Addressing media in Quetta Press Club, Chinese Ambassador had said that they welcome investments. “We welcome investment in CPEC,”
During his visit to Quetta, Ambassador Jing also addressed the Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industry and met people from a broad cross-section of society.
He stated that after the formation of the new government, CPEC had been reviewed and consensus had been developed over the inclusion of new projects.
“Both sides will keep working on the ongoing projects under CPEC and have them finished as scheduled,” Jing said of the projects that are already underway.
“For the next stage of the project, we will focus on joint ventures and the social sector. We have also decided that more resources should be given to the western provinces,” he revealed.
He expressed the desire to link the mega-project to Central Asian states via Afghanistan. He said CPEC would open new vistas of development and prosperity in the region.
The Chinese Ambassador stated that CPEC had entered “a new era” and that jobs would be created for the people of Pakistan through its various projects. He said Balochistan offers numerous opportunities to investors in terms of agriculture, livestock, mines and minerals.
At the chamber of commerce, businessmen urged the Chinese ambassador to establish a Chinese consulate in Quetta to address their business needs. The ambassador promised the business community that their request would be discussed with Chinese higher ups.
Following Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Saudia Arabia last month, the government had announced that the kingdom has signed grant agreements with Pakistan to finance three road infrastructure and energy projects under CPEC.
The government, however, had clarified that Saudi Arabia would not be made part of the $50 billion CPEC framework and the kingdom’s proposed investments would fall under a separate bilateral arrangement.
“The framework between China and Pakistan is bilateral and Saudi Arabia is not entering that framework as a third-party investor, rather the base of CPEC will be broadened and its pace will be expedited,” Minister for Planning and Development Khusro Bakhtiar had said during a press conference.
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