ISLAMABAD, Mar 17: President Dr Arif Alvi Thursday underscored the need for mutual cooperation to maintain peace in the world and resolve important issues of concern for the international community.
In an interview with FM 98 China Media Group, he said other countries should follow the global approach of China for the resolution of issues of public interest while implementing their domestic policies and measures.
He said the aim of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project was to promote regional cooperation and investments made for the purpose would be mutually beneficial.
The friendship of Pakistan and China was not only between the two governments but it had roots in the hearts of the people and that relationship was very important for sustainable peace in the region, he continued.
President Alvi said the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping gave China a distinctive identity and also provided guidance about the future of humanity.
The Chinese president not only had experience in domestic affairs but had a deep understanding of the relations of different countries in the backdrop of the ever-changing situation at the international level, he maintained.
Dr Alvi said in the present era, the world needed a steadfast politician like him who was fully aware of bilateral relations and the importance of peace and security in the world.
According to President Xi, the objective of the building of the Wall of China was to protect the country and not to attack another country, he said, adding instead of occupying another country, China always took steps for its own defence.
He appreciated that China played a very positive role in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and said Pakistan also wished that peace should prevail in the world.
He said President Xi had a very significant role in the implementation of the principles and projects introduced by the Communist Party of China.
He said China was a trustworthy friend and relations between Pakistan and China were unprecedented.
“We believe that seven decades old ties of Pakistan and China will further strengthen in the times to come.”
He pointed out that there were many countries which only looked after their own interests and desired a better future for themselves instead of taking care of humanity.
However, in the last two decades, some countries had realized that the international community needed to work together to resolve global issues, he maintained.
The president said the world was faced with the issue of climate change and carbon levels were continuously increasing in the world. “However, so far the international community cannot take a decisive collective action.”
He said climate change caused severe floods in Pakistan, which had a very insignificant share in global warming, adding Pakistan had suffered huge losses due to the change in the climate.
He said China succeeded in taking a large part of its population out of poverty and now many countries of the world were following in the footsteps of China and were ready to make progress in alleviating poverty.
Education and health were given prime importance in China and Pakistan had also desired to make progress in those sectors, he noted.
He said some countries cooperated with others only for their own benefit but China introduced projects like the Belt and Road Initiative and CPEC which were equally beneficial for all the stakeholders.
The One Belt One Road project was being expanded to Far East, Central Asia and Africa, and efforts of China were aimed at promoting regional cooperation and bilateral investments would be of benefit to everybody, he commented.
He said thinking of the leadership was evidence of the principles espoused by China, adding the Central Asian states and Afghanistan also wanted to take benefit of CPEC to enhance opportunities for trade.
Keeping in view the opportunities for trade, China was continuing with its efforts for establishing peace in Afghanistan, Dr Alvi said, adding after the revival of peace in Afghanistan, China and Pakistan would fully participate in the reconstruction of Afghanistan and Central Asian states would also get access to CPEC.
He said progress in the CPEC project would help reduce poverty.
Dr Alvi said Pakistan learned valuable lessons from China during the COVID-19 pandemic and tackled the disease more effectively as compared to other countries, including its neighbour India. Due to the cooperation of China, the rate of death from COVID was less in Pakistan.
He said the investment was being made in special economic zones of Pakistan under the agreement of industrial cooperation with China. The initial investment was made in Gwadar.
During his presidentship, two prime ministers had visited China and held negotiations for further investment in the CPEC project and the results of those investments would appear with the passage of time, he added.
He said, “We need to understand that we share this world which does not have infinite resources.”
The international community needed to focus on increasing production and bringing down consumption levels, he stressed.
He said Pakistan was now giving priority to renewable sources of energy in an effort to shift focus away from the use of fossil fuels. Work was undergoing on different projects of solar and wind energy and hydropower.
He underlined the need for expanding cooperation in agriculture to end hunger in the world.
The president said different countries were making advances in vertical farming, in getting more production with less water and in less usage of pesticides.
He said China led the world in the modernization of agriculture and mutual cooperation in future would result in an abundance of goods in the world, particularly electricity.
The industry of solar panels, he said, was making rapid progress and it was expected that the trend would cause a drop in electricity prices. The progress in the agriculture sector would help produce food in abundance and China had extended its full cooperation to Pakistan in the crop production.
China, he added, was also collaborating with Pakistan in the information technology sector. Pakistan was training its human resources in the field and the trained workforce would get an opportunity to serve in the technology sector, he said.
President Alvi was of the view that in the present era, nationalism was rising and international cooperation was on the decline and that trend was dangerous for the world.
He stressed that wars should be stopped to create unity and unanimity in the world, adding negotiations among countries were imperative to resolve issues.
The president said China always supported Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir where the journey of progress had stopped because of oppression and disturbance.
The people of Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir were distressed as they were deprived of education and were facing Indian barbarity, he added.
“It is the responsibility of the international community to resolve disputes. When issues will be resolved, it will help in ending poverty and will provide an opportunity to humanity to live life with protected basic rights.”
He reminded that the international community resolved their numerous problems together and their cooperation on the issue of the ozone layer was significant.
Pakistan as a country of more than 220 million people wanted to be a partner in the development of the region and the world, he added.
