HANGZHOU: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif attended ceremony of signing and exchange of agreements and memorandums of understanding with Alibaba Group in diverse sectors of the economy.
During his visit to Alibaba headquarters in Hangzhou, he was briefed about the company by Alibaba Chairman Joe Tsai. A long-term cooperation agreement between Pakistan and Alibaba was signed in the presence of the Prime Minister.
In his remarks on the occasion, the Prime Minister said Pakistan and China had built a unique relationship which had strengthened by every generation.
He said Pakistan had diligently played the role of a peacemaker in the region and this would not have been possible without support of China and friendly countries.
Pakistan fully supports agenda of China’s President Xi Jinping for lasting peace in the region and beyond, he said adding the bilateral relations of Pakistan and China had expanded to bring progress and prosperity to the people.
He said Alibaba was a wonderful company whose cooperation and linkages with Pakistani companies would bring tangible results in different sectors of economy.
Pakistani government was on the path to digitizing its economy and revenue collection, he said adding the support of Alibaba to Pakistani economy in realms of information technology and artificial intelligence would help bring positive changes in industry, agriculture, health and education sectors.
He said after signing of agreements and MoUs a committee would be formed to implement the agreements according to a timeline.
Alibaba Chairman Joe Tsai in his remarks gave details of the areas in which his company intended to collaborate with Pakistan.
He said Pakistan and China had strategic partnership through the Belt and Road initiative and his company would work to improve digital infrastructure, industrial capabilities and cross border trade between the two countries.
The cooperation would enhance in areas of cloud computing, data centres, artificial intelligence, trade facilitation, global market access, financial technology, financial literacy, healthcare, smart hospitals, telemedicine, pharmaceuticals and agriculture, he added.
