CARs States can benefit from vast opportunities in Pakistan: President Mamnoon Hussain

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ISLAMABAD, March 22 (APP): President Mamnoon Hussain Thursday said that Pakistan was a land of great opportunities from which friendly countries particularly countries from Central Asia could benefit the most.

He said that China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has opened up several avenues of investment in Pakistan for the Central Asian Countries which will also be mutually beneficial for these countries.

The President said this while talking to the key participants of International Seminar on “Pakistan: a land of opportunities for the Central Asian Republics” who called on him at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

National Security Advisor Lt.Gen. ? Nasser Khan Janjua and senior officials were also present on the occasion. The President emphasized that there were deep historical and cultural links between Pakistan and Central Asian Republics which make our cooperation more meaningful in other fields of life.

He underlined that CPEC would create vast opportunities of development and progress in the region and Central Asian Republics could especially benefit from these openings.

Therefore, it is necessary for this purpose to further enhance our cooperation at all levels, he added.

The President underscored that there should be frequent exchange of visits of the experts from various fields of life so that they could explore different opportunities and work for the progress and prosperity of the people.

The President stated that extremism and terrorism in the region also affected the bilateral trade and other economic activities. He pointed out that Government of Pakistan has eradicated this menace through Operation Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fassad.

Hideouts of the terrorists are being destroyed which have resulted in the restoration of peace while trade and Industrial activities are on the rise, he added. The President highlighted that Pakistan was producing various state of the art products including defence equipment.

He said that Central Asian Republics could benefit from Pakistan’s experience and products in these fields. Similarly, young officers from Central Asian Republics can also benefits from the training institutes of Pakistan in various fields including defence, he added.

The delegation included Former Vice Prime Minister and Presently Chairman Federation of Chamber of Commerce of Uzbekistan Ikramov Adham Ilhamovich; Deputy Director, National Institute of Strategic Studies of Kyrgyz Republic Baidoletov Nuradil Esenbekovich; Director Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies Georgiy Dubovtsev; Director, Center for Strategic Studies under the President of Tajikistan Dr.

Khudaberdi Kholiqnazar; Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan Merdan Bayramdurdyyev and the Ambassadors of Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

APP/Zub