On the morning of April 27, 2019, Prof. Tao Yitao met with Dr. Ishrat Hussain, Senior Economic Advisor to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Dr. Diyar Khan, Consul General of the Pakistan Consulate General in Guangzhou. And the meeting was held in the conference hall of Shenzhen Kelu Building. Prof. Tao is now the director of the China Center for Special Economic Zone Research (CCSEZR), Shenzhen University (SZU), president of the Belt and Road Research Institute of Shenzhen University and also president of the Belt and Road Research Institute (Shenzhen) for International Cooperation and Development (BRRIICD). Attending the meeting were Prof. Yuan Yiming and Prof. Gao Xingmin, Deputy Director of CCSEZR, associate professor Li Fan, Assistant to Director of CCSEZR, Dr. Li Tong, Director of CCSEZR Office, Dr. Ma Limei, Assistant of the Foreign Affairs Division, Dr. Yun Wenjie and Dr. Miao Lu. Prof. Yang Hanxin who is responsible for the Entrepreneur Sub-Forum of the 2019 World Special Economic Zone Development Forum also participated in the meeting.
A well-known Pakistani banker and economist, Dr. Ishrat Hussain served as President of the Central Bank of Pakistan from 1999 to 2006, and Dean of the Karachi Institute of Business Administration from 2008 to 2016. He is currently Senior Economic Advisor to Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan. Ishrat Hussain was born in Allahabad, British India. In 1947, he moved to Karachi, Pakistan and entered the government sector in 1964. Ishrat Hussain received his master's degree from Williams College in 1972. And he obtained his Ph.D. from Boston University in 1978 and entered the World Bank the following year. In 1994, Hussain served as the chief economist for the Asia-Pacific region of the World Bank and led the World Bank's work in Central Asia from 1997 to 1999. Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain awarded him the Nishan-e-Imtiaz Medal in 2015.
In the speech, Prof. Tao Yitao first expressed a warm welcome to the visit of Dr. Ishrat Hussain and Consul Diyar Khan. She said that the exchanges between CCSEZR and Pakistan had lasted for three years. And she was personally invited by Pakistani Prime Minister's Office to visit Pakistan twice to deliver a keynote speech on the successful experience of China's Special Economic Zones (SEZs). During the trip, she visited the Pakistan Investment Authority, the Ministry of Planning and Development and the Higher Education Commission, and received a warm and friendly reception from the Pakistani side. At present, CCSEZR maintains close ties with relevant departments, universities and think tanks of Pakistani government. And it has successively signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for collaboration with the Islamabad think tank, the Pakistani Global Think Tank Network (GTTN), and the National University of Science and Technology. With the joint efforts of both sides, the collaboration between CCSEZR and the Pakistani side has achieved positive outcomes and reached a new height. Currently the two sides are actively preparing for the "2019 World Special Economic Zone (Islamabad) Development Forum", which will be a collaboration of historical significance.
Prof. Tao pointed out that CCSEZR had long been committed to sharing and cooperating with the countries along the Belt and Road and emerging economies in the SEZ construction, and providing them with Chinese solutions to their development challenges. And it is the mission of scholars and think tanks to achieve shared and win-win development. She hopes that this meeting will be a great opportunity to promote collaboration with Pakistan to be more pragmatic and in-depth, to actively boost the preparation and organization of the "2019 World Special Economic Zone (Islamabad) Development Forum", and to contribute ideas and wisdom to the construction of the China-Pakistan economic corridor. Mr. Ishrat Hussain thanked Prof. Tao Yitao for her invitation and endorsed her points. He believes that under “the Belt and Road” initiative, the construction of the China-Pakistan economic corridor will have an important impact on promoting Pakistan's economic and social development. Shenzhen SEZ epitomizes China's economic miracle with its striking economic development pace. Shenzhen has exactly what Pakistan's SEZs need in SEZ construction. He hoped that Pakistan capitalizes on this opportunity to promote pragmatic collaboration between the two sides and apples the experience of the Shenzhen to Pakistan.
Subsequently, the two sides conducted detailed discussions on the upcoming collaboration matters, including the research on the construction of Pakistan SEZs, an initiative conducted by CCSEZR in collaboration with the Investment Department of the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Planning and Reform of Pakistan, under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and the preparation for the “2019 World Special Economic Zone Forum”. The meeting was concluded amid a friendly atmosphere and the two sides took a group photo. After the meeting, Dr. Ishrat Hussain gave an introduction to investment and business opportunities in Pakistan for entrepreneurs in Shenzhen. And the entrepreneurs present actively put forward questions about the business opportunities in Pakistan, showing their enthusiasm and willingness to invest in Pakistan.
Dr. Ishrat Hussain (first from left) and Prof. Tao Yitao (first from right), with Associate Professor Li Fan (middle) as interpreter
Group photo of all attendees
Group photo of all attendees
