Online visas to enhance business, tourism for Pakistan

Pakistan offering online visas for Chinese citizens signals closer economic cooperation and mutual exchanges between the South Asian nation and China, analysts said, adding that it can help enhance Pakistan's economy.

Starting from Wednesday, visas for Chinese citizens will be available online, making it much easier for Chinese businesspeople to come to Pakistan, Pakistan's Ministry for Information and Broadcasting said on its website.

Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said this earlier this month during a meeting with a representative delegation of the Chinese business community led by Chinese Consul General in Lahore Zhao Shiren.

There will be ample facilities provided to Chinese citizens for business, and the Pakistani government attaches top priority to the protection of Chinese citizens living in Pakistan.

Zafar Uddin Mahmood, president of the Understanding China Forum and former special envoy for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, said the streamlined online visa process for Chinese nationals is good for the facilitation of bilateral exchanges.

Imran Khalid, an international affairs commentator based in Karachi, Pakistan, said the ease in visa applications will undoubtedly facilitate the frequent movement of Chinese individuals and companies, thereby strengthening economic interdependence.

Pakistan is expected to receive more Chinese tourists, as the summer travel season will be followed by the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, according to sources from Chinese travel agencies.

The Pakistan side has been keen to attract Chinese outbound tourists to scenic and historic sites of the country by adopting various plans.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of Chinese tourists to Pakistan increased beyond 225,000 a year. Last year saw Chinese tourists returning, as the two countries marked the Pakistan-China Year of Tourism Exchanges.

In January, Caretaker Minister of State for Tourism Wasi Shah announced that Pakistan witnessed an increase of 115 percent in foreign tourism last year, leading to $1.3 billion in foreign exchange revenue. The South Asian nation achieved a remarkable 92 percent recovery to pre-pandemic levels last year, according to the United Nations' World Tourism Organization.

Khalid said: "The implications of this streamlined online visa process may extend beyond tourism and business for China. It can pave the way for increased collaboration in various fields, including academia and technology, better fostering innovation and shared growth between the two countries."

Businesspeople, technical staff members and professionals can now travel to Pakistan with more ease, enabling them to be more involved in joint venture projects, particularly CPEC-related projects, Khalid said.