ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal has proposed China-Pakistan business platform for joint production in economic zones under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The minister also proposed to establish linkages between universities in Shandong province and Pakistan for exchange of faculty and students as part of people-to-people contact and suggested for alignment of Pakistan exportable products with Chinese import needs to benefit the Pakistani manufacturers and increase trade volume with China.
Ahsan Iqbal put forward these proposals in a meeting with Xia Gang Vice Governor of Shandong Province of China, leading a high level delegation. He said that Shandong is most developed and industrialized province of China. There are enormous opportunities for Pakistan and Shandong province to collaborate in textile, energy, engineering and agro-based industry.
Ahsan proposed that Shandong province can benefit at large finding lower cost labour in Pakistan relocating its labour-intensive industries to make their products more competitive. He said that human resource development is a critical area and wherein Pakistan might seek assistance from Shandong province utilising its trained human resource. Minister also called for cooperation in agriculture sector to increase agricultural products and products in Pakistan.
The minister further stated that Pakistan can also benefit from Shandong experiences in soil and water conservation, which is critical to Pakistan.
Talking about the provision of clean water, the minister also urged that Pakistan and Shandong can also join hands to purify the drinking water in the rural areas of Pakistan.
