China’s Commerce Ministry organizes 14-day seminar for senior Pakistani govt officials

ISLAMABAD, Sept. 24 (Gwadar Pro) - The Academy of International Business Officials (AIBO) of China’s Ministry of Commerce organized an intensive two-week-long ‘Seminar on Cooperation in Industry and Industrial Parks for Senior Officials of Pakistan’ from September 9 to September 22.

Engineer Syed Zeenatullah Shah, a member of a technical team under a political coordinator of the Prime Minister Imran Khan, shared the success and outcomes of the seminar with Gwadar Pro.

As many as 79 senior Pakistani government officials participated in the seminar, who were enlightened on various key aspects of China’s policy of opening up to the outside world; the industrial revolution powered by special economic zones with case studies of some of the most successful SEZs; measures for attracting investments to the SEZs as well as international industrial cooperation in the post-pandemic era.

At the opening ceremony, CEO Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade (KPBOIT) Hassan Daud Butt highlighted that the KP province was most suitable for industrialization under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative due to its proximity to both China and the Central Asian Republics (CARs) through Afghanistan. He said that the KP government was taking all necessary measures to promote industrialization under the second phase of the CPEC.

Engineer Shah said that the seminar provided the participants with a unique opportunity to understand the long struggle backed by prudent economic policies of the Chinese government during the past four decades. "The participants were mainly from the government organizations involved with industry and trade; therefore the knowledge learned through this seminar will help them in steering Pakistan into an era of industry-led economic growth," he said.

In the first session titled ‘Understanding China’, Chen Mingming, Senior Communication Advisor to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, gave a detailed overview of the basic facts about China.

FANG Tao, Department of Foreign Investment Administration of China’s Ministry of Commerce, gave a presentation on economic zones being operated by the state governments.

Chief Consultant Shanghai Caohejing High-Tech Park, trained the participants on how to attract investment to the SEZs. He also narrated the success story of the High-Tech Park.

YAO Weiqun, Executive Director Shanghai Institute for Strategy of International Trade Centre at Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, elaborated on the outcomes of China’s policy of opening up to the outside world.

ZHANG Ruihua, Director General Office of Free Trade of Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Area, focused on the linkages between industrial zones and population centers.

The participants were awarded certificates upon the conclusion of the seminar by China’s Ministry of Commerce.