ISLAMABAD, June 5: The Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) has asked the government to provide visa facilities for the Chinese tourist at Sost, a town near the Pakistan-China border in Hunza.

The PTDC managing director, Masood Ali Khan, made this request during a meeting of the corporation held here. Officials of Foreign Office and Chinese embassy in Islamabad attended the meeting.

Mr Khan said the facility would attract more Chinese tourists and help to promote tourism in the country.

He also presented a proposal to establish Tourist Information Centres in different cities of China to help Chinese tourist regarding their visit to Pakistan. The Foreign Office spokesman was apprised of the situation.

The FO spokesman said, after consultation with other officials in the Foreign Office, he would inform the PTDC of the decision.

The PTDC managing director stressed the need for cooperation between the tourism departments of the two countries and said people from both the country should visit each other’s country to promote tourism. Interior Ministry’s spokesman said the government had already provided landing facility to the business community of China on which they could stay in Pakistan up to seven days. The ministry would also try to recommend visa facility at the border town, he added.

The cultural counsellor of the Chinese embassy, Yuan Weixue, said he would apprise the Government of China of providing visa facilities on the border for the Pakistani tourists. He also invited a 25-member delegation of the PTDC to visit China and hold talks with the tourism industry there. “The Chinese government would bear all the expenses incurred during the delegation’s visit,” he added.

The meeting decided that Pakistan and Chinese tourism departments would provide different discount tourism packages for the tourists..—PPI