“The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) have significant international influence and can effectively help developing countries promote infrastructure construction and economic development. 

Pakistan is the biggest beneficiary of  BRI,” said Zafaruddin Mahmood, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, according to Gwadar Pro on Monday

Zafaruddin Mahmood gave remarks at the high-end academic forum on Sino-Pakistan ties. The forum was hosted online and offline by Jiangxi University of Science and Technology (JXUST).

The forum focused on CPEC, China-Pakistan language, culture, and education cooperation, China-Pakistan nonferrous metals cooperation, China-Pakistan economy and trade, and Pakistan hot issues.

The special assistant has studied in China for many years and claims himself a "China-made student". He stated at the forum's opening ceremony that  BRI, the Global Development Initiative, and the Global Security Initiative are all very important and have the potential to make the world a better place in the next 100 years. 

He specifically affirmed the "2+2" talent training model jointly established by JXUST and the University of Punjab, and expressed his expectation that future exchanges and cooperation between the two parties would be strengthened.

In his welcome remarks, Wen Herui, President of JXUST, expressed his optimism for the forum as an opportunity to build on the momentum and make new and greater contributions to the high-quality development of Sino-Pakistan ties.

Luo Lin, Director of Secretariat of International and Regional Studies of the Ministry of Education of China, highlighted that “China and Pakistan have supported and forged ahead with each other in the face of changes and chaos in the world, which demonstrates our unwavering friendship.” 

He expressed support to the Pakistan Studies Center of JXUST for its efforts to strengthen liaison with various parties and build a distinctive think tank platform by combining the university’s superior disciplines.

Tu Anbo, Vice President of the Jiangxi People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, explained that in recent years, Jiangxi has continuously expanded cooperation and exchanges with Pakistan in the implementation of the BRI, and achieved fruitful results in the areas of CPEC construction, the fight against the epidemic, economy and trade, education and culture. 

He said the association is willing to work with other parties to expand Sino-Pak cooperation mechanisms and platforms, promote the of establishment Sino-Pak sister cities, schools and hospitals, and add new impetus to the building of an even closer Sino-Pak community with a shared future in the new era.

In his closing remarks, Liu Chengsheng, Secretary of the CPC Committee of School of Foreign Languages at JXUST, proposed to hold similar forums on a regular basis in the future and looked forward to smooth communication channels between the governments, universities and researchers of the two countries to continuously promote exchanges and cooperation.

Zulfiqar Ali, Director of the Board of Investment, Prime Minister’s Office of Pakistan, Luo Jianxue, President of the Lahore Overseas Chinese Association, Mahboob Hussain, Chairman of Department of history and Pakistan studies, Ma Zhiwei, Deputy Director of the Liaoyuan South Asia Institute, other scholars and over 200 faculty and students also attended the forum.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP