Addressing the meeting, Chairman Senate Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said all the political parties were committed to CPEC as it promoted collaboration in health, education, information technology and other sectors besides its contribution to addressing the power woes of the country.
He urged both sides to work together for a green and resilient future besides strengthening partnerships in education and tourism sectors.
National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said the Parliamentary Committee on CPEC ensured vigilant oversight of the government and followed up on the progress of the projects under CPEC through regular reporting to the Parliament of Pakistan.
He reaffirmed the resolve of the parliament, government, and people of Pakistan to build on past successes and in ensuring that CPEC reaches its full potential.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said that despite political differences, all the political parties stood unanimous when it comes to China and CPEC, and were committed to revitalise the upgraded version
.
He said China came to rescue Pakistan when it faced around 18 hours of load-shedding and no investor was ready to invest in the country.
The minister thanked China for the inclusion of new corridors in the CPEC which were aligned with the 5Es introduced by the incumbent government.
JUI-Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman expressed gratitude to the Chinese leadership for their unconditional support of the Kashmir cause and reiterated Pakistan’s support on the Taiwan issue. Similarly, both countries had unanimity of views on multiple regional and regional issues, he said, and also called for completion of delayed CPEC projects.
Minister for Federal Education Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and Munazza Hassan called for an enhanced focus on education, information technology and artificial intelligence to harness the youth’s potential.
Syed Ali Zafar called for accelerating CPEC projects while Chairman of Pakistan-China Institute Mushahid Hussain Sayed reiterated the political parties’ commitment to take the CPEC-II forwa
rd. He also proposed the formation of rapid response information system to counter the fake news aimed at undermining the CPEC and Pak-China relationship.
National Party’s Senator Jan Muhammad called for technical training of Balochistan’s youth, while Afrasiab Khattak cautioned against the designs of the hegemonic forces in the region trying to disrupt peace.
This followed an interactive session marking the suggestions by the participating leaders with the majority emphasizing a greater focus on the parliamentary exchanges to boost people-to-people linkages.