Monday, April 06, 2015From Print Edition
ISLAMABAD: The Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Sun Weidong, has said that Chinese Navy’s vessels would stay in the Gulf of Aden to keep the pirates away from one of the most important water courses of the world.
He claimed that China, for the first time in its history, dispatched its ship to evacuate stranded people of another country to the coast of third country when the vessel brought 176 Pakistanis out of Yemen last week. The ambassador said this in a brief chat with The News here on Sunday at the spring festival Chinese dinner hosted by leading jurist Akram Sheikh and Zahid Malik on behalf of 101-Chiense friends think-tank. The Chinese envoy said that the vessel that travelled to Yemen to rescue the Pakistani nationals went there exclusively for the Pakistani stranded people. Less than 10 Chinese citizens boarded this ship. Sun Weidong said no schedule of the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping had been finalized and as soon it is finalised both the capitals would make an announcement simultaneously in this regard. To a question, he said the Chinese president would visit Pakistan this year. He maintained that the visit of his president will take the relations of the two countries to new and even far greater heights.
Sun Weidong reminded that new projects being pushed forward in Pakistan by China were approved at the highest level in China. He said it shows the determination of his government and people to cementing the ties with Pakistan further.
Later, addressing the 101-Chiense friend’s think-tank, the ambassador said that Chinese living in Pakistan don’t feel that they are living in any foreign country as they feel at home by all standards. The ambassador reminded that it was Pakistan’s PIA that opened the world for China by connecting it with the foreign countries and again in 1970 it was Pakistan with whose courtesy China normalised its ties with the United States and it paved the way for China’s legitimate and rightful place in the world body. He recalled Pakistan’s support for China in the wake of devastating earthquake in his country and said Pakistan’s medical doctors and other staff worked there day and night despite inadequate facilities for living. “The Pakistani teams won the hearts of the Chinese people,” he added.
Sun Weidong said that Pakistan is China’s dearest friend and iron brother. The terminology of iron brother was used for the first time during the visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to China last year. He said that the relationship between Pakistan and China was entrenched in the people of the two countries. Any change in the two countries or any happening in the world couldn’t create any adverse impact on the relationship of the two countries.
The event was also attended by the UAE Ambassador Eissa Abdulla Al-Basha Al-Noaimi, former naval chief and Pakistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia Admiral Abdul Aziz Mirza, Kuwait’s counsellor Khaled Ahmad Al-Shami, former foreign secretary Akram Zaki, Khawaja Ejaz Sarwar, former federal minister Dr Basharat Jazbi and a large number of diplomats.
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