PRESS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT

GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN

Pr. No. 135.

PRESS RELEASE

   Islamabad, July 25, 2006

The all weather, time tested relationship between Pakistan and China is for the mutual benefit and the strategic partnership enjoyed by the two countries has contributed to regional peace and stability, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said.

 Talking to a delegation of Pak-china Friendship Forum led by Mr. Xu Dunxi, Former Vice Foreign Minister who called on him at the PM's House this evening, the Prime Minister said   relationship between China and Pakistan withstood the changes in the global and regional situation and two countries need to make determined efforts to make our economic and trade relations commensurate with our excellent political relations and the vast reservoir of goodwill that exists between our peoples.

The Prime Minister said that President General Pervez Musharraf's visit to china in June and February 2006 has further strengthened our bilateral cooperation. The two sides found convergence on various issues of bilateral and international concern.

"The relations between the two countries have reached dimensions and depths never seen before ", the Prime Minister said and added that we are keenly looking forward to President Hu Jintao's visit to Pakistan.

The Prime Minister said the world is constantly undergoing changing trends impacting the destiny of individual countries and the world as a whole. The strong relations between China and Pakistan which are based on solid foundations need to be further engaged to create new vistas of cooperation and new interdependencies to further expand our relations and create win win situation for both.

The Prime Minister noted that Pakistan and china are cooperating in the fields of economy, trade, investment, energy, education, defence and security. The joint ventures to produce JF17 Thunder Aircraft and purchase of Frigates from China have given a new dimension to Pak-China cooperation in the field of defence.

Talking of the defence and security issues, the Prime Minister said that Pakistan is a peaceful country and does not harbor aggressive designs against any country. However, peace is achieved through a position of strength and Pakistan wants to have minimum credible deterrence to maintain balance of power in the region .Our defence policy is designed to safeguard our integrity and sovereignty, the Prime Minister added.

Emphasizing the need to promote regional cooperation for faster growth, the Prime Minister said, Pakistan which is uniquely positioned at the confluence of three regions; Central, Western and South Asia is the natural and the shortest link between Central Asia, China and the Gulf region and is fast emerging as the junction for multiple corridors of cooperation between the three regions involving energy, trade and transportation.

The Prime Minister said Pakistan wants to work with China to build these corridors, which will usher in a new era of development and growth for the region.

The Prime Minister said that Pakistan considers China a great model of growth, peace and prosperity and China's economic growth and tremendous transformation is a source of pride and strength for the developing world and especially Pakistan.

He said 21st century belongs to Asia because of its resilience, high growth and human capital. Within Asia, the Prime Minister said China is a leading country which makes a strong impact on social, political, diplomatic, security trends in Asia and at the global level.

The Prime Minister welcomed the visit of the Pakistan China Friendship Forum delegation and said the visit would offer an opportunity to have better perspective on various issues of concern to our two brotherly countries and the members of the Forum would benefit a great deal by interacting with each other in understanding issues of regional and international concern.

Mr. Xu Dunxi said the close and friendly relationship between Pakistan and China is time tested and the two countries enjoy unanimity of views on various regional and global issues.

Mr. Xu Dunxi said the consolidation of trade and economic ties reflect the strength of political and diplomatic relations enjoyed by the two countries. He said Pakistan and China need to work on building energy bridge in the region.

Mr. Xu Dunxi appreciated the growth and development achieved by Pakistan. He said the "marvelous progress"            has been made possible due to the leadership provided by President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

Mr. Xu Dunxi appreciated the vision of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz which he said lead to economic turn around in Pakistan.

Chinese Ambassador in Pakistan Mr. Zhang Chunxiang and senior officials attended the meeting.