President Zardari visits the Urumqi Urban Operations Centre during his official trip to China, highlighting Pakistan’s interest in learning from modern urban management models. He received a warm welcome from the Mayor of Urumqi and the Vice Governor of Xinjiang before touring the state-of-the-art facility.
The Urban Operations and Management Centre digitally connects more than 30 municipal departments, offering over 200 essential services through a single platform. By integrating departments into one system, the Centre ensures faster coordination in healthcare, education, traffic management, utilities, and emergency response. Instead of working in isolation, government units collaborate in real time, which improves efficiency and provides better services to citizens.
President Zardari actively engaged with the officials who briefed him on the Centre’s operations. He praised the vision and planning behind the digital governance model, calling it a benchmark for modern cities. According to him, Pakistan’s urban planners can draw valuable lessons from Urumqi’s approach and design solutions suited to local challenges. He stressed that smart digital systems could help Pakistani cities improve service delivery, reduce delays, and handle emergencies more effectively.
The president’s visit also demonstrated Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening cooperation with China in technology, governance, and infrastructure. He noted that learning from successful Chinese models could speed up Pakistan’s progress in smart city planning and sustainable urban development.
Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, and the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan accompanied the president during the visit. Their presence underscored the importance of this engagement for both countries.
President Zardari’s visit to the Urumqi Urban Operations and Management Centre reflects his broader vision of modernising Pakistan’s cities. By adopting similar governance tools, Pakistan can create efficient, transparent, and people-centred urban systems.
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