CIDCA chairman meets with visiting Pakistani prime minister

On Nov 2, Luo Zhaohui, chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), met with visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Beijing. The two sides exchanged views on issues including bilateral development cooperation.

Luo said that China and Pakistan are good friends, partners and brothers who always stand together and look out for each other in trying times, with iron-clad friendship unfading. China has always prioritized Pakistan in its peripheral diplomacy, and has attached great importance to developing bilateral cooperation, the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Global Development Initiative (GDI). Under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor framework, substantial progress has been made in bilateral cooperation in the fields of social aspects and people's livelihoods. Luo said that the CIDCA is ready to work with Pakistan to implement the key consensuses reached by the two heads of state, to provide additional emergency assistance and support in Pakistan's post-disaster reconstruction, and to deepen the synergy of development strategies and cooperation, in a bid to accelerate the building of a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future and inject new impetus into the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership.

Shehbaz extended his sincere appreciation to China for its assistance against the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the generous and immediate support it gave in the wake of Pakistan's recent floods, noting that no other countries helped Pakistan as sincerely as China. He said that learning from China’s successful experiences in state governance and deepening cooperation are key parts of the Pakistan-China all-weather strategic cooperative partnership. He pledged to deepen cooperation with China in the areas of socioeconomic development and people's livelihoods under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor framework, and to continue to propel the high-quality joint building of the Belt and Road, as well as implement the GDI.

On the same day, Luo signed five cooperation documents with his Pakistani counterparts, including memorandums of understanding on the joint promotion of the GDI and post-disaster reconstruction in Pakistan.