Pakistan, China to deepen cooperation in communication: Munir Ahmed

Islamabad: China and Pakistan should bridge the gap in information, knowledge and communication capacity between the two countries and promote sustainable development by deepening cooperation in think tanks, culture, tourism and media.

Historically, the relationship between Pakistan and China has been very good. In today’s world, building a mutually beneficial and win-win partnership is the key to promoting coordinated development. Therefore, two-way communication and cooperation are of great significance.

The above views were expressed by Munir Ahmed, Executive Director of Development Communications Network (DEVCOM-Pakistan) in an interview with Gwadar Pro recently.

He further mentioned that twenty years ago, communication played a critical role in social development and its impact is ongoing. “Communication skills and tools enable stakeholders to stimulate scale, potential and resources to connect more closely to achieve specific goals. In today’s information age, it is all the more imperative to develop the network to provide information to the public in order to get more support and credence.”

Referring to the necessity of developing networks in Pakistan, Munir Ahmed stated that Pakistan is a pluralistic country with different philosophies, languages, etc. It is vital for the whole nation to have a vibrant network, communicate with vision and power, and connect society and people. “Unlike the lingua franca, packaging information into the language of common people is a two-way communication, one is to communicate with the people and the other is to convey the voice of the community to decision makers, national and international stakeholders, while the network is of great benefit to communicate in both ways.”

Munir Ahmed affirmed that significant progress had been made in the connectivity of communication network infrastructure between both countries. “In this regard, think tanks can promote strategic communication and assist in implementation.” He said, “Through the exchange of visits by experts and holding seminars, discussions and exchanges on the current situation and development prospects of political, economic and cultural relations between the two countries are greatly conducive to in-depth understanding of Pakistan and China.”

Chinese culture has a long broad and profound history, and Pakistan also has a very diverse and dynamic culture. “Activities on Chinese culture organised in Pakistan need to go deep into different cities. The security situation in Pakistan has improved in recent years, and such initiatives should be more promoted. I have put forward the concept of ‘Friends of China’ in 2011, and now is the time to revive it. We normally seek Chinese companies, organizations or enterprises to help us develop the concept in Pakistan.” he underscored.