SHANGHAI (Online) – Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held a meeting with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang on the sideline of the SCO summit on Tuesday.
They discussed bilateral relations and matters relating to mutual interest.
The prime minister said that inclusion of Chinese currency Yuan in world economic system is a milestone and it is the recognition of the economic progress and achievements of China by the world community.
He congratulated the Chinese premier for conducting successful 14th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit.
In a bilateral meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, PM Nawaz called for “deeper cooperation between China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation and the Pakistan Air Force on international sales”.
Nawaz vowed to provide security to Chinese citizens working in Pakistan on “various projects of paramount importance to us”, such as the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
“I am satisfied with the progress on CPEC projects, he said, adding that Pakistan hoped for all the projects under the CPEC to be implemented in a timely and efficient manner.
“We have established a Special Security Division (SSD). SSD will be operational by December 2015 to ensure safety of Chinese nationals.”
He said the Gwadar Security Task Force has already been mobilised under command of a Brigadier, and assured Li that military operations Zarb-i-Azb and the National Action Plan are being successfully implemented.
He requested the Chinese side to allow Pakistan to open a trade-cum-visa office in Urumqi province to facilitate CPEC implementation and people-to-people exchanges.
“I proposed the mechanism of a steering committee between Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States and China which will supervise process of peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan and coordinate efforts in this regard.”
“We are in the process of evolving terms of reference and a concept paper of the proposed Committee. We will keep close co-ordination with China in that regard and in deliberations of the Committee,” he said.
He apprised the Chinese premier of his recent meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Paris and Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj during her visit to Islamabad last week for the ‘Heart of Asia’ conference.
The meetings have yielded encouraging results, he said, adding that both India and Pakistan had agreed to resume the comprehensive bilateral dialogue process.
Referring to the ‘Heart of Asia’ conference, Nawaz said: “I proposed the mechanism of a steering committee between Pakistan, Afghanistan, US, and China which will supervise process of peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan and coordinate efforts in this regard.”
Pakistan and China are celebrating a ‘Year of Friendly Exchanges’ and next year will be the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, he said.
Pakistan was invited to become full member of the SCO at the Ufa summit in July this year and all relevant procedures are being completed for full membership.
The SCO is a security bloc led by China and Russia. The bloc was originally formed to fight threats posed by radical Islam and drug trafficking from neighbouring Afghanistan.
The SCO groups China, Russia, Pakistan, India and the former Soviet republics of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, while Iran, Afghanistan and Mongolia are observers.
