Islamabad, Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal, chaired a high-level meeting in Islamabad to review the implementation and finalization of the sectoral action plan based on the Chinese Experts’ Report. The meeting was attended by Secretary Planning Awais Manzur Sumra, Vice Chancellor PIDE, Chief Economist, Project Director CPEC Secretariat, and senior officials from various ministries and divisions.
The report shared by the Chinese Embassy was prepared by Chinese Working Teams following their visit to Pakistan to assess potential areas of enhanced economic cooperation. The report outlined key observations and recommendations in different sectors such as connectivity, the development of a national agricultural plan, Gwadar Port linkages, IT collaboration, and other strategic areas. Ministries were requested to review the report and provide feedback.
In line with the directions of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, 10 federal focal groups were constituted to develop sector-specific action plans in response to the technical assessments presented by the Chinese expert teams. Since then, the Ministry of Planning under the chairmanship of Minister Ahsan Iqbal has held multiple rounds of meetings to shape the final action plan and has consistently encouraged the ministries to align their inputs with Chinese recommendations and outline a clear path forward.
Today during the meeting, all relevant ministries discussed the sectoral suggestions made by the Chinese teams and presented updates on their respective projects. Minister Ahsan Iqbal directed that each ministry must prepare a comprehensive response based on the Chinese Experts’ Report so that the CPEC Secretariat can compile and submit a unified, detailed reply to the Chinese side. He also directed that China should be formally informed about the progress made by Pakistan on the recommendations, and efforts should be made to fully capitalize on the areas and projects for which China has already expressed willingness to cooperate.
The meeting marks a significant step towards deepening Pakistan-China economic cooperation and ensuring that both sides move forward with a shared understanding and commitment to mutual development goals.
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
