BEIJING, March 31 (INP): Baluch leader Ahmed Iqbal Baloch, who is chairman of Pakistan’s Visionary Group appreciated the closeness brought by CPEC and the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) a lot.

“The Chinese President Xi Jinping gave an excellent road map not only for China and Pakistan but also for the whole world. His idea establishes a good platform to the world regarding economy, trade, cultural exchanges, etc.,” Baloch praised the great initiative put forward by Xi Jinping in an interview with China Economic Net (CEN).

Recording impression of his long association with China and the deep commitment of the Baluch people with the CPEC, Ahmed Iqbal said, he was very happy seeing that their Prime Minister Imran Khan is working hard to lead Pakistan into a powerful country and bring more development to Pakistan.

In the coming days, he hoped China-Pakistan ties will definitely deepen because of more connectivity in various areas.

The 70th anniversary of China-Pakistan diplomatic ties is around the corner. Ahmed Iqbal Baloch who is working in many areas to cement Sino-Pak friendship, shared his China-Pakistan stories with CEN.

When it comes to the stories of China-Pakistani friendship, Baloch displayed a precious photo, in which then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai is shaking hands with his father Haji Muhammad Iqbal Baloch, adviser to then Pakistani President Muhammad Ayub Khan.

Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai is shaking hands with Ahmed Iqbal Baloch’s father Haji Muhammad Iqbal Baloch, adviser to then Pakistani President Muhammad Ayub Khan.

“At the time when Karachi was the capital of Pakistan, his father received Premier Zhou Enlai many times in 1960s, and they had great meetings regarding Pak-China friendship and development,” Baloch talked about the background on the photo.

For Baloch, who is dedicated to promoting Sino-Pak friendship, the picture is definitely inspiring. “From childhood, whenever he sees it in his house or in his father’s office, it gives me great pleasure that these two leaders are talking with each other for both countries’ development and for their people,” he said.

Some people have no idea that Gwadar, currently the shining pearl along China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), didn’t belong to Pakistan until 1958. “There are so many people made efforts to bring Gwadar to Pakistan.

Among them, his father put forward the idea very early. He wrote a letter to the government of Pakistan that we should get Gwadar back to Pakistan,” Baloch said.

Seeing the speedy development of Gwadar, “my dream in the past that China one day becomes a prosperous and powerful country in the world has come true. Pakistan is also doing quite well,” Baloch told CEN with gratification and pride.

Visionary Group is doing business related to CPEC in a wide scope including media, social club, housing scheme, etc. Especially in the media area, VSH News TV under Visionary Group has produced many high-quality programs together with CEN like The Belt and Road: Face to Face and When in China.

“When we talk about CPEC, there is a question of how we can bring more and more connectivity and make people become closer with each other. Good media definitely bring things in a proper direction. We are working with Chinese companies to show what development is actually going on in Pakistan through CPEC,” he said.

The bilateral trade between China and Pakistan keeps growing. Looking ahead into the future, Baloch plans to bring Pakistani fishes to the Chinese market. “We are importing a lot of things from China, and we want to lift our exports to China as well. Fishery is a key component of Pakistan’s exports.

Pakistan has large seashore and there are fishes of No.1 quality available in the sea. We want to make Pakistani fishes value-added and export to China and all over the world,” said him.

Tourism is another area that has great potential to develop between the two countries. “I’ve been to China for many times and I saw so many fascinating cities. However, a large number of Pakistanis haven’t visited China, so they still have no idea about these places’ charm,” he said. “Pakistan also has many beautiful places like Punjab and Gwadar, which are worth exploring for Chinese people,” he told CEN.

“There are so many countries in the world. But when we talk about China, we feel proud that China is not only a friend to us, it’s also a brother. China-Pakistan friendship and CPEC make me feel that we’re a family. When I visited China, the common people were happy seeing me and the same feeling is also in Pakistan,” Baloch added.

INP/JAVED