ISLAMABAD, April 1: Pakistan and China will sign 10 agreements worth billions of dollars including Early Harvest Programme, cooperation in the field of defence, tourism, economic and trade cooperation, and road and air links when Prime Minister Wen Jiabao visits Islamabad early next week. senior government official told Dawn on Friday that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz approved on Friday the draft agreement on Early Harvest Programme. The objective is that instead of involving 500 items under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in one go, exchange of free trade should start in the phases of 30-40 items and then convert into formal FTA.
“The dynamics of Pakistan-China relations would now change from that of an emotional and usual relationship in defence and political fields to that of an economic and commercial one,” the official said.
He said it was very significant development that the Chinese Premier was coming straight to Pakistan on his first ever trip to the South Asia and from here he would go to other countries of the region.
The official confirmed that the Chinese Premier would not inaugurate the Gwadar Port because the project would take at least four more months to complete and not because of security reasons as speculated in the media.
He said the two sides would also sign an agreement to expand road links with the Western world through Karakorum Highway, enhance the frequency of flights to facilitate the influx of Chinese contractors, investors and traders.
The two sides would also sign agreements on investment in the industrial sector. Under the agreement, Pakistan has provided special parks to the Chinese investors for textile, engineering, automotive and electronic appliances in various parts of the country.
The agreements would also include cultural cooperation, besides exchange of students and experts. Another agreement relates to agriculture sector under which Pakistan would benefit from China’s best practices in this field to exploit export potential.
Under an agreement in the field of tourism, Pakistan’s Buddhist heritage would be developed by the China. The two sides would also sign a formal agreement on Chashma Nuclear Power Plant’s second phase.
The two sides have also agreed to set up a Pakistan-China Joint Investment Company but details of this agreement are yet to be finalized. He said the positive aspect of the Pakistan-China relations was that Chinese entrepreneurs were now looking at Pakistan as a new investment destinations and a lot of Chinese companies were competing each other in various contracts.
The official said some very important agreements in the field of defence would also be signed by the two sides but details of these agreements would be announced later. China Development Bank would also come into Pakistan in big way.
Talking about the dispute between Wapda and Chinese contractors on Rs13 billion Gomal Zam Dam, the official said the Chinese contractors were eager to resume work but they wanted to increase the contract price which would be a totally commercial transaction.
