..for speedy action on FTA deal with Pakistan
Financial Express, India
..for speedy action on FTA deal with Pakistan
17 June 2006
SHANGHAI, JUNE 16: China on Friday proposed that Beijing and Islamabad should speed up their joint study on a five-year plan for economic and trade cooperation and establish a Sino-Pakistani free trade agreement at an early date.
Chinese President Hu Jintao, who met visiting Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf here in the eastern Chinese metropolis of Shanghai, proposed that China and Pakistan speed up their joint study on a five-year plan for economic and trade cooperation and reach a Sino-Pakistani free trade deal soon.
Such a decision is also necessary to speed up reconstruction of Pakistan’s quake-hit areas and reach timely agreements on the renovation of the karakoram highway and a number of projects with aid from China, including building of schools, hospitals and an earthquake monitoring network in quake-ravaged areas, Hu said.
The Chinese President and Musharraf, who met on the sidelines of the fifth summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, agreed to further strengthen their strategic partnership by enhancing mutual trust, expanding exchanges and intensifying reciprocal cooperation.
– PTI
