BEIJING, Sept. 7 (APP): Pakistani graduate student Hussain Azhar has volunteered at the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing these days, promoting his home country’s exhibitors at the fair, which he considers an excellent event for identifying business opportunities.
“I am very proud to be selected as one of the volunteers by the Pakistani Embassy in China to help introduce what we have to offer here to visitors from all over the world,” Azhar told Xinhua.
At the five-day fair, from Sept. 2 to 6, Azhar received about 150 visitors per day, on average, at the Pakistani national pavilion.
Azhar is working on his Ph.D. in business at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, and views his volunteering stint as a fascinating and eye-opening experience.
At the Pakistani national pavilion, there are five exhibitors: the Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA) of the Pakistani government; the National Logistic Corporation (NLC); the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP); Habib Bank Limited (HBL); and the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
“STZA provides solutions to international entrepreneurs to start their business or invest in Pakistan, and NLC, NBP as well as HBL have taken CIFTIS as an opportunity to promote their cross-border services in logistics and financing,” said Azhar.
Prior to studying in Beijing, Azhar taught business studies at Preston University in Pakistan for 17 years.
“I can’t put into words how excited I am to see so many big-name companies and advanced technologies at the fair, which brought together important companies like Alibaba, Intel, Deloitte and countless innovative companies from around the world,” he said.
“I was most impressed by a cutting-edge and fairly-priced solar panel product exhibited at the fair by a company from China’s Zhejiang Province. It would be of a great opportunity if it were introduced to Pakistan, which has a shortage of electricity supply,” he said.
The 40-year-old is a father of three. He enthusiastically shared his experience at the fair with his children in Pakistan via video chat.
“My son is very fond of cars. I showed him a brand-new Tesla car being exhibited here during my video call, and he asked me to capture all of its details, both inside and out,” said Azhar.
With the theme “openness leads development, cooperation creates a win-win future,” the fair has attracted over 2,200 enterprises and representatives from 75 countries and international organizations, with the proportion of international participants exceeding 20 percent.
CIFTIS has become one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive fairs for trade in services. It demonstrates China’s active role in working with other countries to promote trade in services and drive global economic recovery.
Azhar said that the trade in services has become a critical driving force of globalization and Pakistan is sure to benefit from the fair.
APP/asg
ISLAMABAD, Sep 06 (APP): The caretaker Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Muhammad Sami Saeed, directed relevant stakeholders on Wednesday to expedite the development projects for flood-affected areas under the Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation & Reconstruction (4RF) framework, which was launched after the 2022 flood.
The Minister issued these directives while chairing a meeting to review progress on the implementation status of the 4RF framework, according to a press release issued here.
The meeting was attended by the Convener of the Rehabilitation Recovery Unity (RRU), Chief Economist, Joint Chief Economist, Member Infrastructure, Member Environment, and other relevant stakeholders.
During the meeting, the Minister received a detailed briefing on the implementation status of the 4RF framework, which encompasses various projects aimed at assisting flood-affected areas across the country.
It is noteworthy that last year, Pakistan faced unprecedented devastation due to torrential rains and flooding in most parts of the country, affecting 33 million people and resulting in economic losses worth $30 billion.
In response, the government devised the 4RF framework, which proposed effective coordination and participation arrangements among federal and provincial governments, development partners, donors, international and national NGOs, and academic and private sectors.
In October of the same year, the Post-Damage Needs Assessment (PDNA), conducted jointly by the Government of Pakistan and its international development partners, including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Union, and UN relief agencies, estimated the total cost of the calamity at $30 billion.
In January of this year, Pakistan successfully secured pledges of $10 billion from donors during the International Conference on ‘Climate Resilient Pakistan,’ jointly hosted by Pakistan and the UN in Geneva.
During the meeting, a comprehensive briefing was provided to the Minister on the implementation status of the 4RF framework and the various projects being executed for the benefit of flood-affected areas in the country.
It was further noted that all projects are being closely supervised, and in this regard, a dashboard will be launched at the Planning Ministry to ensure effective monitoring and evaluation of the projects.
Despite Pakistan’s carbon emissions being less than 1%, the country remains highly vulnerable to climatic disasters. Pakistan raised this concern during the COP27 summit held in Egypt last year.
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