ISLAMABAD: Chinese business delegation on Wednesday visited Allama Iqbal Industrial City to strengthen bilateral trade relations through exploring business potential and investment opportunities.

The delegation visited the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) of Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (FIEDMC) under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Both sides discussed issues for improvement in various sectors and projects, said a press release.

Highlighting the development projects of the FIEDMC, Mian Kashif Ashfaq said that around Rs357 billion foreign and local investments will be injected into various projects, which clearly indicates that investors have reposed complete confidence in the present regime. More than 25 Chinese firms have made agreements to invest in the industrial city, he added.

He said that Allama Iqbal Industrial City has been planned over an area of 4,000 acres, which is strategically located on Motorway M-4 near Sahianwala Interchange, Faisalabad.

He further said that all industries within the export processing zone will be exempted from tax for a period of 10 years and plants, machinery, raw material and other equipment can be imported duty-free.

Representatives of the Chinese delegation said Pakistan and China were all-weather strategic co-operative partners and their partnership was aimed at promoting peace, development and prosperity in the region.

They stressed that the Chinese investors were confident about Pakistan’s economic potential and hoped that the economic relationship between the two countries would increase.

Later, the delegation visited different parts of industrial city and expressed their satisfaction over the pace of development of various ongoing projects.

The FIEDMC chairman said the importance of the CPEC as a strategic alternative is immense, leveraging the economic opportunities that can unleash its strategic significance and bring prosperity, peace, as well as stability in the whole region.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2019