ISLAMABAD, Oct 11: The Federal Minister for Communications and Railways, Housing and Works, Javed Ashraf Qazi, has said that the Pak-China friendship was playing a vital role in the economic uplift of the region.

He said: “We desire to expand cooperation with China in the communications and particularly the highways sector.”

The minister was talking to a five-member Chinese delegation headed by the Chairman of the China Council for Promotion of International Trade, Yuan Jianmin, who called on him on Wednesday.

They discussed matters related to starting of the trade traffic via Karakorum Highway. “Karakorum Highway is a living example of the exemplary friendship that gave a new turn to the friendly links,” the minister said, adding that the highway enjoyed vital significance for promoting trade traffic among the ECO states and such activities would give Pakistan a central place in the regional trade.