ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that Pakistan was “open for business” and pursuing economic revival and industrial expansion as Pakistan and China reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral investment cooperation during a business conference in the Chinese city of Hangzhou.
Addressing the Pakistan-China B2B Investment Conference on IT and Telecom, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), and Agriculture on Saturday, Dar said the sectors selected for the conference were central to Pakistan’s economic transformation and industrial modernization, according to a Foreign Office statement issued on Sunday.
The conference was attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, senior Chinese officials, ministers, diplomats and business leaders from both countries.
“Pakistan is open for business. Pakistan is reforming. Pakistan is rising,” Dar told participants.
He said more than 500 Pakistani and Chinese companies participated in the event, reflecting strong business interest in expanding economic ties between the two countries.
Dar said the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, was pursuing an ambitious agenda of economic revival, industrial expansion and sustainable growth.
The deputy prime minister said Pakistan’s Foreign Office had placed economic diplomacy at the center of its foreign policy, adding that expanding business-to-business engagement with China was a key example of this approach.
Highlighting the growing momentum in bilateral investment cooperation, Dar said Pakistan and China had already organized four sector-focused B2B conferences before the latest edition in Hangzhou.
He said more than 300 memorandums of understanding and nearly three dozen joint ventures had been signed under these initiatives, with a combined value exceeding $13 billion.
According to Dar, nearly 30% of the memorandums had already been converted into agreements and contracts.
He also referred to recent progress made by Chinese company IBI Guolian Gufen, saying the firm established its Pakistan Digital Economy Headquarters in Islamabad within months of meetings held in Beijing.
Dar said the company’s recent visit to Pakistan resulted in MoUs worth more than one billion dollars.
The deputy prime minister thanked Chinese authorities, including Zhejiang provincial officials and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, for supporting the conference and promoting bilateral economic cooperation.
