The second meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on Science and Technology under the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was held by video link on April 20, 2022. The meeting was co-chaired by the head of the working group on the Chinese side, Dai Gang, Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, and the head of the working group on the Pakistani side, Humaira Ahmed, Federal Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology of Pakistan.

 

Dai Gang said that China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic partners. History has proven time and again that regardless of changes in the international landscape and the domestic situations in the two countries, China-Pakistan relationship has stood rock-solid and unbreakable. Since the establishment of the JWG on Science and Technology in 2020, the two sides have overcome difficulties caused by the pandemic, and carried out results-oriented cooperation in areas such as joint research centers, science popularization and people-to-people exchanges on science and technology, practical technology training and technology transfer through the relevant cooperation mechanisms in light of the science and technology needs of the CPEC’s development. Dai Gang noted that science, technology and innovation (STI) provides an important underpinning for the high-quality development of CPEC, and strengthening science and technology cooperation is a consensus of both countries. The Chinese working group will work together with the Pakistani side to carry forward the traditional friendship, enrich and expand practical cooperation, and endeavor to play a bigger role in making CPEC a model project for high-quality Belt and Road development.

 

Humaira Ahmed said that the relationship between Pakistan and China is growing stronger and deeper. The friendship between the two countries is higher than the mountains and deeper than the sea, and the two countries have actively carried out practical cooperation through the intergovernmental science and technology cooperation mechanism. Under the CPEC-JCC mechanism, the relevant departments of the JWG on Science and Technology have focused their efforts on promoting people-to-people exchanges on science and technology, joint laboratory construction, science and technology park cooperation, technology transfer and cooperation in other areas, and achieved significant results.

 

Humaira Ahmed stressed that STI is an important driver for economic and social development and an important area of cooperation for a friendly bilateral relationship. The Pakistani side stands ready to work more closely with the Chinese side to jointly promote the CPEC’s development and contribute to the advance of regional economic integration for the benefits of the peoples in both countries, and wishes China-Pakistan an everlasting friendship.