Written by: Staff Report
Posted on: February 15, 2019 | 
| 中文
(L-R) Mr. Gao Yunlong, H.E. Mr Yao Jing, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Mr. Syed Shibli Faraz, Mr. Khusro Bakhtiar
The Pakistan-China Institute (PCI) officially inaugurated the Friends of Silk Road Initiative with an unveiling of the “Friends of Silk Road” plaque by Ambassador of China to Pakistan, H.E. Yao Jing and Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed on 14th February, 2019 at Serena Hotel. This people’s platform intends to bring together stakeholders from different segments of society, including parliamentarians, business leaders, civil society, media, and local communities with a focus on women and youth, for enhancing the understanding of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
In his opening remarks, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chairman PCI and Chairman Foreign Affairs Committee of Senate, highlighted the three Cs of CPEC: corridors, cultures and connectivity. While recognizing the fruits of BRI and CPEC, he noted achievements such as speedy resolution of energy crisis, creation of thousands of jobs for locals, and the empowerment of women of Thar. “A whole new world is opening up to Pakistan because of CPEC, and we must thank the Chinese for their vote of confidence in Pakistan for launching CPEC five years ago. ‘Friends of Silk Road’ will take this friendship to new heights,” he said.
His Excellency, Mr. Gao Yunlong, the Vice Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, addressed the ceremony as leader of the Chinese delegation. He began by saying that the Pakistan-China friendship is based on strong public support, “We remain friends despite changes in situations on international and regional front, and thus our friendship is a model for all countries.” While offering suggestions for tackling the challenges of CPEC, he stressed the importance of interactions between people on a personal level, “CPEC is not limited to certain people or groups, but is open to all Pakistani people.” He concluded by saying that Friends of Silk Road will provide a sound platform for the friendly exchanges of people from all walks of life.
Mr Khusro Bakhtiar, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform, who also graced the occasion, called CPEC a corridor with multiple areas such as culture, infrastructure and energy. He reiterated that Pakistan is committed to “hastening the pace” and “broadening the base” of CPEC. In this spirit, he explained that the last Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) on CPEC had decided that 2019 will be the year of industrial cooperation. He called the Friends of Silk Road “a step in the right direction,” for opening vistas of cooperation in culture.
Mr Syed Shibli Faraz, Leader of the House for Senate of Pakistan, gave some historical context of the friendship between China and Pakistan. He noted that our friendship has only improved with time, and there are no parallels of this in the rest of the world. He identified the primary challenge for CPEC, as it's not being widely understood by the people. However, as the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) draw closer, CPEC will directly benefit the masses, and thus an initiative like Friends of Silk Road is timely.
The opening session was followed up by a roundtable discussion, which went into detail regarding the “Impact of CPEC on Pakistan’s socio-economic development.” It was presided over by Senator Lt Gen (R) Abdul Qayyum, Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Defence Production.
Mr Hassan Daud, Project Director of CPEC in the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform, began the discussion by thanking PCI and Senator Mushahid Hussain for coming up with novel ideas for bringing the people of the two countries together. He re-emphasized the government’s commitment towards CPEC by highlighting previous and current projects, and concluded by calling CPEC, “the primary platform for our shared sustainable and prosperous future.”
Mr Zhao Lijian, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Chinese Embassy, updated the audience on the outcomes of the JCC meeting of last December. He informed the young people in the audience that from 2010 to 2017, the number of Pakistani students in China increased from 2,000 to 23,000, which means that the opportunities for Pakistani students in China are endless. With regards to the future, he identified the two priorities of CPEC as establishing SEZs, and the socio-economic development of Pakistan. Furthermore, he called upon the audience for their help in countering false propaganda against CPEC.
The discussion concluded on a light note when Mr Li Ruogu, Vice President of the China Peace and Development Foundation and Ex-President of China EXIM Bank, highlighted the importance of learning each other’s language for improving people to people connectivity, and Mr Zamir Ahmed Awan, professor at NUST University, came forth with his comments in fluent Chinese. His Chinese language skills left the Chinese delegation pleasantly surprised, as he appraised them about the graduates and current students of Chinese language in Pakistan. We were reminded of Professor Dr Tang Meng Sheng of Peking University, whose Urdu language skills had similarly left us impressed at the CPEC Media Forum 2017. Mr Zamir further highlighted the presence of both public and private language initiatives, such as the Pakistan-China Institute language classes in Pakistan. He emphasized the need to break the language barrier, upon the Pakistani audience.
A question and answer session was held for interaction between the panelists, the Chinese delegation and the audience. Shields were awarded to the Chinese delegation to commemorate the beginning of the Friends of Silk Road. The event was attended by parliamentarians, senators, civil society members, business leaders, intellectuals and journalists.
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