Mushtaq Ahmed Mehar (Former Ambassador): It is a good development that messages have been exchanged between Pakistan and China as it had been quite some time that we heard something positive. The exchange of greetings between the top leadership of both the countries is a welcoming step. China is a country that invested in Pakistan at a crucial time when other countries were hesitant to invest here due to terrorism. The road infrastructure in the country has improved. Moreover, the China Pakistan Economic Corridor project will enable Pakistan to boost its industrial sector as well. Now China is willing to invest in the agriculture and IT sectors in Pakistan that will help to improve the production. Research-based techniques are required for effective use of water for irrigation purposes. Unfortunately, the work on development projects under CPEC slowed down but the incumbent government is determined to complete it within specified time. Pak-China relations are not only limited to economic development of both the countries. Rather, China is unconditionally offering all the regional countries to become part of economic projects under its Belt and Road Initiative. Sooner or later, Shanghai Cooperation Organization will become the most effective and influential organization in the world. 

Dr. Rizwan Naseer (IR Expert): Pakistan has a massive population and it is responsibility of the state to fulfill the requirement of food production. The foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is going to attend an important summit on Global Food Security on the invitation of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. In this summit intellectual debates on world issues will be held. Pakistan's participation in the summit is going to uplift the agenda of the meeting as Pakistan is among the countries where most of the population is relies on agriculture for survival. Foreign Minister must highlight the importance of joint ventures to maximize the production of agricultural products. The National Security Policy of Pakistan talks about human security and food security as well. Pakistan is located in the least integrated region because it has an aggressive neighbor that is unaware of cooperation and consensus on regional issues. Pakistan is looking towards new avenues for cooperation in different fields of life. The world needs to realize that Pakistan has a great potential and contributes to a great extent in the world economy. China through use of new technology maximized its production in the agriculture sector and is exporting its agri-products to other countries as well.

Ali Sarwar Naqvi (Former Ambassador): China Pakistan Economic Corridor was initiated at a time when Pakistan was confronting a big challenge of terrorism and no country was willing to invest in Pakistan. It is the responsibility of every government in power to give prime focus to complete this mega project as it is going to stabilize our economy. CPEC is the main source of foreign direct investment in the country. Unfortunately, the work on CPEC in the tenure of the previous government slowed down. The first phase of this project has been completed and the second phase is underway that must be completed within the timeframe. CPEC is the part of Belt and Road Initiative that has been extended to over forty countries of Africa and Asia. However, some elements have been trying to sabotage the project that needs to be countered. Pakistan is determined to ensure the foolproof security of Chinese officials. However, a cowardly terror attack on Chinese nationals is highly condemnable. China appreciates the positive contribution by Pakistan to the international counter-terrorism efforts and firmly supports Islamabad in cracking down on terrorist forces. All the attempts to sabotage the flagship project would not succeed.