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ISLAMABAD: A delegation of Chinese company Shandong Xinxu Group met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday, expressing interest in building a maritime industrial complex in Pakistan and constructing a green shipbreaking yard in the country, Sharif’s office said in a statement.

Shandong Xinxu Group Co., Ltd. is a high-tech energy enterprise integrating the renewable energy industry chain, including dedicated battery equipment, nuclear power equipment, urban wastewater treatment projects and renewable smart energy storage systems. According to its website, Shandong Group’s products have been exported to more than 40 countries and regions such as Pakistan, India, Tunisia and Belarus.

Business at the shipyard has declined in recent years as Pakistan navigates a tricky path to recovery from a prolonged macroeconomic crisis. The shipbreaking industry has also taken a hit due to worldwide calls to stop beach scrapping because of the danger and environmental damage from pollutants left to drain into the sea.

Sharif met Shandong Group’s delegation, led by its chairman Hou Jianxin in Islamabad, the PMO said. During the meeting, Sharif invited Chinese industries to invest in Pakistan, assuring them that the government will provide all possible facilities for the establishment of Special Economic Zones.

“Shandong is interested in establishing a maritime industrial complex in Pakistan,” the statement said. “The Chinese company will build a green shipbreaking yard in Pakistan.”

During the meeting, the two sides were also briefed that Pakistan has immense potential in the ship-breaking and ship recycling sectors.

Gadani in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province once used to be one of the world’s main destinations for end-of-life vessels. Here, old and decommissioned ships were regularly dismantled and their parts, especially steel, were recycled, reused or resold.

In June, Pakistan’s government approved Rs12 billion [$42 million] to transform the Gadani ship-breaking yard into a “model green facility” to reduce pollution and manage hazardous waste, the maritime affairs ministry had said.

During the meeting, both sides were also briefed that the Chinese enterprise aims to benefit from Pakistan’s potential in fishing, fish processing and in the processing of date fruits.

Pakistan has been pushing for foreign investment in its key economic sectors ever since it came to the brink of a sovereign default in 2023 before an International Monetary Fund loan program helped it avert the crisis.

Pakistan considers China a key regional, economic and strategic partner. Since 2013, Beijing has invested tens of billions of dollars in energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a major segment of China’s Belt and Road Initiative that aims to build land and maritime trade routes linking Asia with Africa and Europe.

ISLAMABAD: ������Ƶ’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) on Wednesday dispatched a large-scale emergency relief convoy for thousands affected by devastating floods in northwestern Pakistan.

Torrential monsoon rains and cloudbursts have triggered floods in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, damaging critical infrastructure and killing hundreds. Monsoon rains since June 26 have killed 707 people in Pakistan, with KP accounting for the highest number of deaths at 427. According to KP’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), 377 people, including 294 men, 50 women and 33 children, have died and 182 others have been injured in rains and flash floods across several districts since last week.

A large-scale emergency relief convoy carrying food items, tents, solar panels and kitchen utensils was dispatched from Islamabad by KSrelief. The ceremony was attended by ������Ƶ’s Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki, Pakistan’s Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Rana Sanaullah and KSrelief Pakistan Director Abdullah Al-Baqami.

“I think relations between Pakistan and ������Ƶ are very unique,” Malki told Arab News after the ceremony. “We always stand with Pakistan in thick and thin.”

He said ������Ƶ’s king as well as its Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman always want to support Pakistan, adding that relations between the two countries “will grow to new heights in the future.” 

The relief convoy comprises 10,000 Shelter non-food item (NFI) kits and 10,000 food packages. Each shelter kit includes solar panels with LED lights, two thermal blankets, plastic mats, durable kitchen sets, water coolers, and antibacterial soap, the agency said in its press release. 

It said each food package weighs 95 kilograms and contains wheat flour, sugar, lentils, and cooking oil, adding that all items were carefully chosen to address the immediate nutritional needs of families affected by the floods.

Sanaullah thanked the Saudi government for always standing by Pakistan during its time of need. 

“������Ƶ has always been standing by Pakistan in difficult times,” Sanaullah told reporters. “The relations between the two countries are like those between two brothers,” he added.

KSrelief said the aid distribution will be carried out in collaboration with Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), the Relief, Rehabilitation and Settlement Department (RR&SD), and KSrelief’s implementing partners, Hayat Foundation and Peach and Development Organization.

Over the years, KSrelief has launched numerous projects across Pakistan in food security, health, shelter, education, and disaster response— deepening the bonds of friendship and brotherhood between the two countries.

“The dispatch of this convoy stands as another milestone in this enduring partnership, providing urgent relief to families affected by the devastating floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” the Saudi agency said. 

The annual monsoon rains are vital for agriculture, food security and the livelihoods of millions of farmers in Pakistan, though in recent years they have caused intense flooding and landslides amid shifting weather patterns that scientists attribute to climate change worldwide.