Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, has affirmed that the country’s all-weather strategic cooperative partnership with China continues to strengthen and adapt in response to evolving global and regional dynamics.
Speaking on Monday at an event commemorating the 52nd anniversary of the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad, Dar described the Pakistan-China relationship as a central pillar of Islamabad’s foreign policy and a key force for regional peace, development, and connectivity.
“Our foreign policy remains proactive and result-oriented, and the Pakistan-China all-weather strategic cooperative partnership continues to grow in depth and scope,” he said.
He noted that the partnership is being elevated as needed to align with the demands of a rapidly changing world.
Dar also commended China’s leadership in promoting regional connectivity through inclusive multilateral mechanisms. He pointed to recent trilateral engagements, such as the China-Pakistan-Afghanistan and China-Pakistan-Bangladesh forums, as evidence of shared regional goals.
According to him, the recent China-Pakistan-Afghanistan ministerial meeting in Beijing represented a qualitative leap in cooperation, laying the groundwork for expanding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into Afghanistan.
“Such cooperation mechanisms, based on mutual benefit and common interest, are central to Pakistan’s pivot to geo-economics,” he added.
CPEC, a flagship project under China’s Belt and Road Initiative, was launched in 2013. The corridor links Gwadar Port in Pakistan to Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang region, with initial investments focused on energy, transport, and industrial infrastructure. The second phase now extends into agriculture, livelihoods, and other development sectors.
(NAN)