Federal Minister for Industries and Production, Syed Murtaza Mahmud on Thursday offered China to establish its industry on the land of 1,500-acre Dhabeji Special Economic Zone in Sindh, manufacture products there, and export to the world.
According to a press statement issued by the Ministry of Industries, Syed Murtaza was talking to the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong who invited him.
Both the leaders exchanged views on different bilateral issues of mutual interest and cooperation, the statement added.
The minister requested the Chinese companies that are already involved in mobile manufacturing, automobile, and other areas in Pakistan, to bring more investment keeping in view cheap and competitive labor in the country.
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With regard to export promotion, the minister stated that both nations could mutually work together on long-term policies and exchange ideas regarding exporting zones. Currently, 700 processing zones were working in China whereas only 8 processing zones were operational in Pakistan, the minister noted.
He informed the Chinese leader that Pakistan had a huge potential in the agriculture sector, particularly fruits that could be exported to China after their value addition. He also highlighted the need to increase the volume of chili export although Pakistan was already exporting the commodity to China.
Moreover, the minister informed the Chinese envoy that the floods caused heavy loss to the agricultural sector; and different crops were damaged severely.
Talking at the occasion, the ambassador told the minister that China had given financial support to flood affectees through Red Crescent Society and Chinese companies operating in Pakistan were being mobilized for fundraising for the purpose. Chinese ambassador reassured the minister of supporting the Pakistani agricultural sector through advanced technology and trained management to improve the yield of crops.
Furthermore, Federal Minister for Planning, Ahsan Iqbal stated that the present government is fully supporting the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and is dedicated to expediting work on its related projects.
The minister claimed the PML-N government signed $46 billion projects at a time under CPEC back in 2013 when no one in the world was keen to bring investment to Pakistan due to the law and order situation.
