Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan wanted to benefit from Chinese expertise to adopt “effective preventive measures and strategies” to better face natural calamities during a visit to the National Earthquake Simulation Center of the University of Tianjin on Sunday.
The Prime Minister praised the use of technologies advanced by China in disaster management, saying that these methods “will prove to be extremely beneficial for Pakistan in the treatment of natural disasters”.
Existing initiatives in Pakistan, including the International Medical Center and the joint China-Pakistan laboratory, should be made more effective, he stressed when he called to expand bilateral cooperation in disaster preparation.
Shehbaz tackled the situation of the current floods in Pakistan, noting that national rescue operations were underway to support affected families.
Read: Shehbaz heads for China for Sco Summit
Additional convoys with aid had been sent to Narowal, Siackot, Wazirabad, Hafizabad, Chiniot and Jhang, who are said to be handed over to the province of disasters (PDMA) for the distribution, he said.
Ordering the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to remain in close coordination with the Punjab government, the Prime Minister assured that “rescue operations for families affected by the floods will continue”.
During the visit, he was informed of disaster management technologies, including newly developed medical rescue vehicles, as it was informed that several joint projects are operational as part of the Belt and Road initiative, such as the joint China-Pakistan laboratory for disasters and emergency medicine, the international medical cooperation center and the China-Pakistan Friendship Hospital.
This is the first visit of Prime Minister Shehbaz in China since the Pakistan-India War in May, following the Pahalgam attack.
Pakistan came out victorious when it killed at least 6 Indian fighter planes, including the very advanced French manufacturing.
It was the first time that Chinese military equipment was tested on a real battlefield against Western technology.
The profile of China in terms of military technology has increased by a few notches while Western commentators admitted that Beijing was not tied with other Western countries in terms of defense equipment.
