During the 1st Decade completion ceremony of CPEC in Islamabad, Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif & Vice Premier of China He Lifeng vowed to continue their efforts to develop CPEC as an exemplary project of Belt & Road cooperation. Pakistan and China launched the CPEC projects in 2013 – the last year of the Pakistan Peoples Party government when Asif Ali Zardari held the position of president.
While addressing the event, Shehbaz Sharif said that CPEC played a significant role in transforming the economic landscape of Pakistan by irradicating power shortages & uplifting the overall infrastructure. The leadership of both sides applauded the efforts of Pak-China experts, workers and engineers for their contribution and timely completion of projects.
In the past ten years, several projects got completed under the belt of CPEC. This includes projects in the energy sector, transport, infrastructure, port, airport development & digital connectivity. In the power sector, 8000 MW were added to the national grid system. In terms of infrastructure, 510 kilometres of highways & 932 kilometres of road were built. To enhance digital connectivity, the project laid 820 kilometres of long optical fibre lines. Moreover, 200,000 jobs were created.
For Phase II, both countries said that cooperation would be expanded in the areas of rural revitalization, agricultural development, industrialization, green development and science & technology.
Celebration of Decade Completion
Other than PM Shehbaz Sharif & VP He Lifeng, high-level leadership attended the event, including Special Representative of President Xi Jinping. High-ranking officials, corporate executives of leading Chinese companies working in Pakistan, and senior Ministers of China & Pakistan attended the event.
A special Postal Stamp, Commemorative Coin and First Day Cover was launched to mark the significance of the occasion. During the event, special performances displayed the multiple facets and pluralistic culture of Pakistan.