Pakistani Friends Discuss Belt and Road Cooperation in Beijing

时间:2019-08-06  17:25:56

On June 10, a delegation from the All Pakistan China Friendship Association (APCFA) visited the Beijing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (the BPAFFC).

 

Zhang Qian, Executive Vice President of the BPAFFC, warmly welcomed Attia Ayub Qutub, President of the APCFA, to lead a delegation to visit Beijing again. The two and other guests reviewed in a lively atmosphere all cooperation projects in the fields of culture, urban construction and so on since the two associations established a tie in 2017. She said that China and Pakistan are all-weather good neighbors and close friends. The BPAFFC is willing to strengthen cooperation with the APCFA in various fields under the Belt and Road Initiative, share experiences in economic and social development, advance the Belt and Road International Lawyers Union, and exchange ideas in education, vocational training, and improving women's employment, so as to enhance the traditional friendship between the two peoples through high-quality pragmatic cooperation.

 

The visiting Pakistani friends told a moving story about the elder generation’s friendly exchanges with China, and proposed a few ideas on promoting pragmatic exchanges between Beijing and Pakistan in urban planning, e-commerce, film culture, and infrastructure construction. The two sides also confirmed the holding of a Pakistan Culture Week in Beijing in October this year and discussed related specifics. Farwa, secretary-general of the APCFA, said that the Chinese cultural counselor to Pakistan highly appreciated the efforts of the BPAFFC and the APCFA in jointly holding events such as the "Belt and Road" Painting Competition for Chinese and Pakistani Youth. The counselor and the APCFA jointly selected 53 prize-winning works from more than 250 entries provided by 23 Pakistani schools.

 

The APCFA, Pakistan's biggest organization for friendship with China, was established in March 1980 under a proposal by former Pakistani Ambassador to China Mumtaz A. Alvie. Attia Ayub Qutub, the current APCFA president, is his daughter. The APCFA now has more than 500 members from the military, academia, business, legal, and other fields. Most of them are lifelong members, maintaining long-lasting friendly ties with China. In April 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping presented the APCFA with the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence Friendship Award during his visit to Pakistan, in recognition of its contribution to promoting China-Pakistan friendship.

 

Su Bensheng, Vice President of the BPAFFC, also attended the meeting.