China congratulates newly elected PM Shehbaz Sharif, vows to speed up CPEC projects

ISLAMABAD: China on Tuesday felicitated Shehbaz Sharif on his election as the new prime minister of Pakistan.

Taking to Twitter, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian said, “China looks forward to working with Pakistan to build a high-quality China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.”

He maintained that China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic and comprehensive cooperation partners with rock-solid and unbreakable relations.

On Monday, PM Shehbaz Sharif received congratulatory messages from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on becoming the 23rd premier of Pakistan.

Following the ouster of PTI chairman Imran Khan from the office of the prime minister, the Opposition’s joint candidate Shehbaz was elected as the premier — having secured 174 votes.

In his congratulatory message to Shehbaz on Twitter, PM Modi said: “Congratulations to H. E. Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on his election as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.”

“India desires peace and stability in a region free of terror, so that we can focus on our development challenges and ensure the well-being and prosperity of our people,” he said.

Meanwhile, in a telephonic conversation with Shehbaz, Turkish President Erdogan told the newly-elected prime minister that he was extremely happy about him being elected as the premier.

“I am sure that under your leadership, Pakistan-Turkey’s brotherly ties will bolster,” Erdogan said, who called Shehbaz hours after the lower house of the parliament elected him.

In response, Shehbaz said he aspired to bring both the countries closer during his tenure as the prime minister and thanked Erdogan for his congratulatory telephonic call.