ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China agreed on Friday to revive cooperation between the Chinese Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) and the Board of Investment (BoI) to ensure investment promotion in prioritised sectors of information technology, textiles and agro-based products.

BoI Chairman Haroon Sharif, who is in Beijing as part of prime minister’s delegation to participate in the second Belt and Road Forum, met Liu Dianxun, Director-General of Investment Promotion Agency of the Chinese ministry of commerce, and discussed the revival of a memorandum of understanding signed between BoI and CIPA in the past. Both sides agreed to revive the cooperation.

Mr Sharif informed CIPA Chief Dianxun that BoI would encourage Chinese investors for investment as Pakistan was planning to develop new special economic zones in addition to already notified seven special economic zones.

“The development of Rashakai special economic zones is a milestone and a first step towards implementation of industrial cooperation under CPEC. Industrial cooperation was prioritised by the present government with a goal to start implementation of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) this year,” Mr Sharif informed his Chinese counterpart.

He said that BOI had received concrete investment proposals from local and foreign investors who were interested in investing in Pakistan’s priority sectors having immense potential for investment; agro-based food and industry, value-added textile, tourism and hospitality, information technology sector, light engineering, and logistics.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2019