Pak-China agreement to collaborate in film production

The agreement between Pakistan and China to co-produce films was discussed by the minister of state for information, broadcasting, national and literary Heritage Marriyum Aurangzeb and her Chinese counterpart Tong Gang today.

The CPEC affiliates will be venturing into the area of film production and film infrastructure. Aurangzeb welcomes the proceedings and formalisation of the agreement and anticipates the project.

While speaking about the collaboration between Radio and Television of China and Pakistan, Aurangzeb informed Gang that her government is currently working on devising a film policy with the objective of incentivising and reviving the film industry in Pakistan, which will soon be made public. She took pride in the recent surge of films produced in Pakistan and said that Pakistan was now producing good quality films for cinema goers and following the Chinese model, both countries could develop and modernise their industries alike.

Aurangzeb commended China's collaboration with 19 countries in the field of film production and expressed that Pakistan wanted to become the 20th partner. She stated that a Chinese Cultural Centre has been setup in the Pakistan National Council of Arts and stressed Pakistan's commitment and eagerness to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) film festival.

The minister of information and broadcasting said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was all about the people and emphasised the need for enhancing cultural collaboration between the two countries to familiarise them about the benefits of this grand mega-economic initiative.

She said that CPEC was the flagship project of the one belt one road (OBOR) initiative directed by President Xi Jinping and that it promises the goodwill and prosperity of people all across South Asia and beyond.

Hosting the delegation, the Chinese Vice Minister, Tong Gang said that the China and Pakistan friendship was an exemplar of good world relations. Addressing Aurangzeb, he said that China was producing 700 films annually and had nearly 50,000 screens. He said that his country was keen to share its experience with Pakistan.

The meeting was also attended by Pakistan's Ambassador to China, Masood Khalid and by other high ranking officials from both sides.