SHANGHAI: President Mamnoon Hussain on Thursday reiterated that strengthening and deepening friendship with China is the cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy.
The president made these remarks in a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the fourth Summit of Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Shanghai on Thursday.
During the meeting, the two leaders held wide ranging discussions on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.
The two leaders expressed satisfaction on the current state of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project and urged for swift completion of the already identified and mutually agreed projects in this regard.
The two leaders observed that the gigantic project would turn the entire region into a vibrant trade, energy and economic corridor besides boosting Pak-China bilateral trade to new heights.
The president Mamnoon said the deepening multifaceted strategic partnership between Pakistan and China with increased focus on economic and trade would usher in a new era of socio- economic progress in the region.
Mamnoon Hussain expressed confidence that under able and dynamic leadership of President Xi Jinping, the CICA forum will be further strengthened and would continue to play a more meaningful role in peace and development in Asia and beyond. He assured Pakistan’s support to his initiatives in this regard.
The Pakistani president also invited his Chinese counterpart to visit Pakistan and said that the people of Pakistan are anxiously looking forward to his first state visit to Pakistan this year.
