QUETTA: Balochistan Information Minister Mir Zahoor Ahmed Buledi has said that $1 billion has been approved for a social development package in the eighth meeting of the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Mr Buledi represented Balochistan with a strong delegation in the JCC meeting held in Beijing on Dec 20. Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani did not attend the meeting as he had reservations over not including development projects of the province in the CPEC.

On his return from Beijing, Mr Buledi said here on Saturday that the Chinese government would provide 20,000 scholarships to Pakistani students.

He said that the Chinese government would help Pakistan in textile, petro chemical, steel and mining sectors.

He said that in the meeting Balochistan demanded half of the amount approved for the CPEC’s social development package. “We also demanded half of the scholarships to be provided by the Chinese government to Pakistan.”

He said that the Balochistan delegation also suggested that Quetta-Zhob and Quetta-Surab dual carriageways be included in the CPEC.

The information minister expressed satisfaction over the pace of work on the ongoing CPEC development projects and said that in the meeting it was decided to accelerate the pace of work on Gwadar port and other projects.

He said cooperation between China and Pakistan would continue in education, agriculture, poverty eradication, health, drinking water and technical training sectors.

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2018