| Pakistan and China meet to review progress on projects under Economic Cooperation |
|
| Thursday,August 20,2009 Posted: 23:23 BJT(23 GMT) |
| From:APP Article type:Reproduced |
BEIJING, AUG 20 (APP): The two-day Pre- ECG (Economic Coordination Group) meeting between the Chinese and Pakistani authorities was concluded here on Thursday. The meeting was attended by the delegations of senior officials from Governments of Pakistan and China. Sardar Aminullah, Economic Minister in the Embassy of Pakistan, who attended the meeting told APP that both sides reviewed the progress in respect of the projects under-taken by the two countries under the five-years Programme for Economic Cooperation between Pakistan and China.
The meeting precluded the former meeting the Economic Coordination Group (ECG), which was constituted to hold periodicaly to review various matters pertaining to projects being undertaken under the said program.
The agenda of the meeting included the present status of the development projects as to their completion, the problems and challenges faced and the measures to remove the impediments in successful completion of these projects with in the framework of the five-year plan.
The Five Years Economic Cooperation Program document was signed in 2006.
It is to mention here that Pakistan has the distinction of having arrived at such a comprehensive frame work for under taking the economic development projects for mutual benefits of the masses of the two countries.
It envisages promotion of investment through different projectsa and to increase the Trade up-to US$ 15 Billion by 2011.
The minister said that so far, 61 projects have identified under the said Plan which are at different stages of their implementation.
The delegations discussed the present position of each project and made useful suggestions for timely implementation thereof.
Most of these projects have either been completed or are at various implementation stages which demonstrate the deep integration of the economies of Pakistan and China and strong will of both the Governments for strengthening existing economic cooperation.
In addition, both sides recommended certain new projects as well for placement before the ECG for including them in the five-year programme.
Proposals for addition of new projects in the Plan will have far reaching impact on economic development, particularly in the areas of critical infrastructure like energy and communication, Sardar Aminullah noted.
The delegations comprised officials of MOFCOM and related agencies of China, while the Pakistan side was represented by the officials of Economic Affairs Division, Board of Investment and Pakistan Mission in Beijing.
The pre-ECG meeting discussed the project management and monitoring mechanism to be followed by both sides for fast tracking the processing of projects and their effective implementation within the spirit of the cooperation programme.
The recommendations of Pre-ECG discussions held in a very cordial atmospheres and these will be placed before the ECG which is likely to be held shortly.
|
Bilateral Visits
