ISLAMABAD: In Senior Officers Meeting (SOM) on Industrial Cooperation between Pakistan and China under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), both the countries have agreed to initiate the first phase of development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs).
The SOM on Industrial cooperation was held at a local hotel in Islamabad on Monday. Pakistan side was led by BoI Secretary Azhar Ali Choudhry and the Chinese side was led by China International Engineering Consulting Corporation Director Dou Hao. The meeting was attended by senior officers and representatives of ministries of planning development and reforms, finance, industries and production, energy, and representatives from Provincial Governments, FATA, AJK and GB from Pakistan side. The Chinese delegation included representatives from CIEC, CADZ, Embassy of China Islamabad, Tianjin DRC, Xinjiang Corps DRC, CCCC, CRBC and Xinjiang Corps Construction.
According to official sources, Chinese counterparts appreciated Pakistani authorities for better progress on CPEC projects stating that a lot of work has already been done to materialise industrial cooperation as the energy and infrastructural projects have been completed to support industrial development. In the initial phase, the Chinese side has shared its experiences regarding planning and developments of SEZs. This phase will focus on the development of SEZs and enhance understanding in other areas of industrial cooperation.
Both sides agreed to initiate the first phase of development of SEZs. Representatives of Provincial Governments, GB and FATA made interventions highlighting their priorities and current status of their SEZs.
Pakistani side also highlighted the importance of skill development for successful implementation of industrial projects and requested Chinese assistance for Establishment of centres for vocational training at Islamabad and other cities on CPEC route. NAVTTC Executive Director also proposed up gradation of National Training Bureau (NTB) into a state of the art institute of technical and vocational training.
Both sides agreed to enhance cooperation in various sectors such as Petrochemical, Steel, Textile, Leather processing and Machinery etc with specific reference to the relocation of industries from China to SEZs. The Chinese side will motivate their enterprises for setting up of their industries in SEZs. In this context, they can leverage the province to province or sister city arrangements.
Both sides agreed to have frequent face to face interaction preferably on a quarterly basis.
