ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal chaired a high-level meeting on Sunday to review implementation progress on sector-specific action plans developed in response to recommendations from Chinese experts.
The meeting followed the Chinese Working Teams’ visit to Pakistan and their subsequent report outlining potential areas for expanded economic cooperation.
The session was attended by Planning Secretary Awais Manzur Sumra, the vice chancellor of PIDE, the chief economist, the CPEC Secretariat’s project director, and senior officials from multiple ministries and divisions. The Chinese report covered connectivity, development of a national agriculture strategy, Gwadar Port linkages, IT cooperation, and other sectors.
Ten federal focal groups were earlier formed on the direction of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to prepare sectoral action plans addressing the technical observations in the Chinese report. The Ministry of Planning has since held multiple rounds of inter-ministerial meetings to finalise the plans.
At the meeting, ministries discussed the Chinese proposals and gave updates on their respective projects. Ahsan Iqbal directed all ministries to prepare comprehensive responses to each recommendation so that the CPEC Secretariat can compile a detailed, unified reply for the Chinese government.
He also instructed that China be officially updated on Pakistan’s progress and urged full follow-up on areas where Chinese cooperation is already assured. The meeting aimed to ensure both sides continue coordination on advancing joint economic goals under CPEC.
