Meeting of CPEC's Joint Cooperation Committee under way

ISLAMABAD: The seventh ministerial-level meeting of Joint Cooperation Committee on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) began in Islamabad today (Tuesday).

The JCC is the apex decision-making forum on the CPEC and is jointly chaired by Pakistan's Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal and the vice-chairman of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China Wang Xiatao.

At least 150 high-level officials from both the countries are in attendance at the meeting, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Balochistan Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri, Gilgit Baltistan Chief Minister Hafeez-ur-Rehman, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider and Punjab Minister for Planning and Development Malik Nadeem Kamran, among others.

Moreover, it is for the first time that officials from the private sector and representatives of commerce and industries of Pakistan are attending the meeting.  

The JCC is the top decision-making body for projects to be carried out under the $55 billion CPEC umbrella. 

The committee has the mandate to review progress on the schemes and take a decision to include new projects in the future. The meeting will review the long-term plan of CPEC.

On Monday, a Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) was held in which officials of various joint working groups of Pakistan and China discussed the long-term plan of CPEC, among other projects. 

The SOM also prepared the draft discussion for today's JCC meeting. 

 

Earlier, Assistant Foreign Minister of China Kong Xuanyou called on Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in Islamabad.

According to Radio Pakistan, Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing and Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua were also present in the meeting.

Pak-China relations and matters pertaining to mutual cooperation between the two countries were discussed in the meeting.