Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday launched the Pakistan-China Business Investment Forum to fast-track project approvals and investment proposals from Chinese investors. 

Speaking at the inauguration event in Islamabad, Khan said in the last three years the issue of delays in projects implementation has been a recurrent problem. 

"This gap disincentivizes investors in China and businesses in Pakistan," Khan said, adding, "Our focus should be on facilitating investments and we need your feedback on how this can be done."

The Pak-China Business Investment Forum—which includes 18 Chinese companies and 19 Pakistanis—has been formed with the collaboration of the Board of Investment Pakistan and All Pakistan Chinese Enterprises. The forum will aim to enhance business-to-business cooperation. 

The forum consists of 18 Chinese and 19 Pakistani companies.

The objective of the forum is to promote sustainable investment and export industry and the development of modern technology in Pakistan.

He further said his government has two key objectives: Industrialization and exports. 

"If you look at countries that have grown in the last few years, such as China, you will see they have made exports their national priority. Even in Turkey, President Erdogan drafted a plan to increase exports which eventually boosted the economy in the country."

Interestingly, Turkey, like Pakistan, has been placed on the FATF's greylisting last year. 

Pakistan, Khan said, needs to reduce work on its import substitution plan. It will significantly reduce the dollar outflow.  

China’s flagship program China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has now entered into the second phase. This phase will include business-to-business collaboration, especially in the agriculture sector, and bringing Chinese companies, that want to relocate, to Pakistan.

"What we need to learn from China is urban planning. Pakistan has immense potential for urbanization but the problems we face are food security and the depleting green areas," Khan said while praising China’s vertical development strategy which saves land for agricultural usage. 
 
(SAM)