Chinese envoy presents scholarship cheque of Rs. 2 Million to University of Peshawar

PESHAWAR: Ambassador Yao Jing said here Saturday that the Chinese government would establish 50 vocational centres and 30 hospitals in Pakistan along with 58 schools in erstwhile Fata.

Speaking as the keynote speaker at a seminar on “CPEC and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa” at the University of Peshawar, he said China was playing a role for restoration of peace and stability in the region so that Chinese firms could execute the dream project of linking Gwadar through railway lines with Kandahar and Peshawar with Kabul and then on wards with Central Asia for improving regional connectivity.

The largely attended seminar at the National Centre of Excellence in Geology was organized by the “Friends of Silk Road” by the Pakistan-China Institute, Islamabad and China Study Centre, University of Peshawar. Politicians, businessmen, academics, government officials and members of the intelligentsia attended the seminar.

Highlighting the importance of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in CPEC, the Chinese ambassador said that the first of the nine special economic zones in Pakistan was being established in Rashakai in the province and Chinese industries would relocate their manufacturing units to it to generate economic activities and create jobs.

Ambassador Yao Jing said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s mining and tourism sectors had lot of potential and these could be developed with proper planning. He stressed the need for value addition to get maximum benefit from the manufacturing sector. Saying that 10 agriculture labs would be set up in Pakistan as part of the emphasis on social and agriculture sectors in the second phase of CPEC, he said the higher education institutions should come up with proposals for these labs through the proper channel involving the Planning Commission and PARC. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shah Farman in his speech claimed that Pakistan was one of the top three countries in the world in terms of its immense mineral resources. He advocated setting up of manufacturing and marketing units at the sites where raw material was available. He also called for linkages between the higher seats of learning and the government departments to boost value addition of local mineral sector.

Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, the founder of the Pakistan-China Institute, informed the audience that 70,000 jobs had been created in Pakistan due to the CPEC projects and 10,000 megawatts of electricity is now being generated. He said 28,000 Pakistani students were presently studying in China and Beijing had announced 20,000 new scholarships for Pakistanis. He noted that some important CPEC projects like the Rashakai special economic zone, Sukki Kinari hydel power project, the Havelian-Thakot highway, etc were being executed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said China and Pakistan had stood by each other in times of need and their friendship had become stronger over the years.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tourism Minister Mohammad Atif Khan spoke about the tourism potential of Pakistan in general and the province in particular and said Rs20 billion was being invested to build and expand the infrastructure for tourism. He hoped Chinese tourists would start coming to Pakistan to give boost to the country’s tourism industry.

Arbab Sher Ali Khan, chairman of the parliamentary committee on CPEC, highlighted the potential of the CPEC-related projects to put Pakistan on the path of progress.

Hassan Daud Butt, chairman of the Board of Investment, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, also spoke on the occasion.

On the occasion, Ambassador Yao Jing gave a cheque of Rs2 million to the University of Peshawar acting Vice-Chancellor Dr Johar Ali for the award of scholarship to deserving students. Prizes were also given by the Pakistan-China Institute to the winners of an essay competition.