| Pakistan seeks China’s help to develop Thar coal project |
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| Wednesday,September 03,2008 Posted: 14:40 BJT(0640 GMT) |
| From:The News Article type:Reproduced |
ISLAMABAD: （Wednesday, September 03, 2008）Pakistan has sought special cooperation from China in developing the Thar coal project keeping in view future energy challenges of the country.
Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Luo Zhaohui called on M Salman Faruqui, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission (PC) on Tuesday at his office in the PC to discuss a wide range of economic and development issues.
During the meeting, Pakistan took up the vital Thar coal project, which if materialised, could rectify all energy ills. According to a press release, the ambassador assured he will consider bringing some other Chinese company for the completion of the project. Faruqui assured the Chinese side that the government would remove all impediments related to the execution of the projects by Chinese investors.
Faruqui apprised the ambassador that the government of Pakistan plans to come up with an integrated macro stability package in the near future. For this purpose, the government needs assistance in the next six months to bring about macro stability. To achieve this, the Chinese private contractors could offer great assistance by investing in and executing the public sector development projects announced in the fiscal year 2008-09 and beyond. The Ambassador assured that he would encourage the Chinese investors to come to Pakistan and invest in various projects.
He was informed that Pakistan has already shown some good signs of economic recovery by recording 20 per cent growth in revenue collection and 15 per cent rise in remittances. Moreover, the increase in duty on the import of luxury goods will further help stabilise the economy.
Presently, the most important sector for Pakistan is the energy sector. The Ambassador was informed about the investment conference recently held in Washington on energy. Faruqui also discussed the plan for the next proposed investment conference to be held in Hong Kong in October this year. In view of exceptionally good relationships with China, he invited the Chinese private sector to participate in the conference. He hoped to get ADB and Bank of China to sponsor the conference in Hong Kong.
Deputy Chairman expressed that the PC wanted to interact and work out an integrated relationship with its Chinese counterpart through joint seminars, mutual visits, and exchange of documents to the benefit of both the countries. He briefed the Ambassador on the reorganisation of the Planning Commission so that it can focus on strategic issues in the field of development. The basic purpose behind the reform is to develop a corporate working environment in the PC to serve as a think tank with a strategic focus and global perspective at conceptual and operational levels. The Chinese Ambassador assured his country’s cooperation in all on-going and future development projects in Pakistan.
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