Aurangzeb: The all-weather Pakistan-China friendship is a part of Pakistani culture

On February 5, Marriyum Aurangzeb, minister of Pakistan's Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage gave an interview to China.org.cn, talking about the Executive Program of Cultural Agreement between China and Pakistan, the Belt and Road Initiative, cultural exchanges and other matters.

Marriyum Aurangzeb, minister of Pakistan's Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage

China.org.cn: Part of your agenda for this visit is the Executive Program of Cultural Agreement between Pakistan and China. What is the significance of the agreement?

Marriyum Aurangzeb:This is my third time to China, and my first time as minister of Pakistan's Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage. I am delighted and privileged to be here – coming to China is always like coming back to a second home. I think the all-weather friendship between China and Pakistan is part of the culture of Pakistan that we have been listening to since our childhood. Our forefathers and grandfathers, they all talk about one thing, which is Pakistan-China friendship.

The agreement that I am here to sign is a very valuable agreement. It is the executive agreement of culture between Pakistan and China. This was first signed as part of our bilateral agreement in 1965, and the cultural agreement was part of a bigger holistic agreement. We signed the 2011 to 2014 executive culture program and exchanges between the two countries and this is the continuation of the agreement we signed in 2011.

This agreement is very robust; it talks about cultural exchanges, it talks about exchanges of broadcasting and films between our two countries, it also talks about the wake of President Xi Jinping’s vision, the Belt and Road Initiative. The most important project of the Belt and Road is the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project is all about people. This is an enhancement in connectivity, an enhancement in people to people contact, an enhancement in the infrastructure development between the two countries. The projects that two countries have envisioned together are all about shared progress, shared future and leaving no one behind.

I think through this agreement there will be more exchanges between the people of the two countries, and between the youth of the two countries in terms of culture. The success of any economic cooperation or any social cooperation is to mutually understand each other’s language, each other’s heritage and culture. So this agreement translates that framework and outlines the importance of people-to-people contact between China and Pakistan.

China.org.cn: China and Pakistan signed the first annual Cultural Agreement as far back as 1965. What kind of a role have the agreements played in promoting cultural exchanges between our two countries?

Marriyum Aurangzeb: Over the years we describe the friendship as “deeper than the ocean, sweeter than honey” – we are iron brothers. It is an all-weather friendship, higher than the mountains. So I think this is all because of the people-to-people connection, and I think this friendship has inspired respect, mutual trust, love, and emotion between Pakistan and China.

And I think these cultural exchanges, people-to-people contacts, this connectivity has led both countries towards more economic progress together, and I see young students coming to China through that cultural exchange program, because the major part of that agreement spoke about educational exchanges between the two countries and people-to-people contact. And this agreement we are going to sign tonight is another milestone achieved in terms of connecting people, in terms of connecting the two countries and leading towards shared prosperity and progress.