Federal cabinet approves special CPEC Business visa

May 26, 2021: Federal Cabinet has given approval to a special CPEC Business visa to facilitate Chinese investment in the country.

Briefing media persons about the decisions taken in the cabinet meeting held in Islamabad yesterday with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhary Fawad Hussain said this will enable the Chinese investors to get their visas within 48 hours and get the security clearance in 30 days.

Minister for Planning Asad Umar also joined the Information Minister during the briefing.

The Cabinet appreciated the economic team for steering the country towards stability despite the challenge posed by Covid-19 and the flawed policies of previous regimes.

Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said overseas voters are important agenda of our electoral reforms. He said the Election Commission should take immediate steps to bring them into our electoral process.

He said Electronic Voting Machine is being appreciated by different segments of the society, including bar associations. He said Rawalpindi Bar Council has demanded EVM for their upcoming elections.

The Cabinet appreciated improvement in the relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia as it will be beneficial for Muslim Ummah.  

The Prime Minister appreciated Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi for successfully raising the Palestine issue at international forums.

Giving details of positive economic indicators Minister for Planning Asad Umar, who had joined the Information Minister at the media briefing, said Prime Minister Imran Khan's policy of protecting lives and livelihood during Covid-19 has saved our economy from an expected loss contrary to the neighboring economies. He said according to the figures provided by National Accounts Committee, we are expecting more than a 3.5 percent growth rate.

Counting on factors that contributed positively in the country's economy, he said Prime Minister's Ehsas Program and incentivized policies for the construction sector played a major role in putting the country's economy on right track. He said this year; the country witnessed record production of wheat, sugar, rice and maize that helped increase wholesale trade, which is directly linked to positive growth of the economy.

The Minister said loans received by private sectors for direct investment have increased by 126 percent that boosted small enterprises while large-scale manufacturing recorded 9 percent growth.

He expressed hope that with all these indicators the country's economy will move from stability to development.

Replying to a question, the Information Minister said the opposition should come forward and debate on electoral reforms, which is the need of the hour.

Chaudhary Fawad Hussain said the incumbent govt is going to create history and today's Cabinet meeting was the country's first paperless meeting which shows the intent of the government.

Radio Pakistan