BEIJING: Moin ul Haque, Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, said on Monday that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project to build the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) jointly, has revolutionized the infrastructure layout of Pakistan and laid a strong foundation for the future development of the county.
President Xi Jinping told People’s Daily in an interview that during his 2015 visit to Pakistan, both countries signed more than 50 cooperation agreements and initiated several CPEC-related projects in port construction, energy, transportation, and infrastructure. He claimed that the power generation and distribution initiatives started, developed, and completed by Pakistan and China have significantly reduced Pakistan’s power shortfall and improved Pakistan’s reputation for commerce and investment. The CPEC would have directly produced 236,000 jobs by the end of 2022.
He described Gwadar Port as the “pearl of the CPEC,” essential to Pakistan’s economic transformation. He predicted significant progress this year on numerous vital projects, including New Gwadar International Airport. The new projects will accelerate the development of the Free Trade Area and Gwadar Port. Ambassador Haque said the CPEC’s second building phase has begun and will significantly advance bilateral cooperation in industry, research and technology, agriculture, and other areas. According to all sectors in Pakistan, the CPEC is extremely important for Pakistan’s economic growth and social advancement, he noted.
During his visit to China in November last year, Prime Minister Shabazz Sharif emphasized Pakistan’s willingness to collaborate with China to promote further the high-quality joint building of the Belt and Road Initiative. He added that the two nations signed the China-Pakistan Industrial Cooperation Framework Agreement, which gave Pakistan’s industry a fresh boost. According to Ambassador Haque, Pakistan fully backs China’s Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, and Global Civilization Initiative because they are consistent with our foreign policy objectives of upholding global peace and development and the purposes and tenets of the United Nations Charter. They help the world organization achieve its 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Pakistan is one of the countries that took the step to work with China on putting global development initiatives into action, focusing on cooperation in poverty alleviation, health, education, economic and social development, infrastructure, human resource development, agriculture, sports, and culture. “We believe this will further deepen the all-weather strategic partnership between China and Pakistan,” he continued.
The official added that Pakistan supports resolving all unresolved differences via dialogue and is prepared to do the same for unresolved differences that impede South Asia’s development and prosperity. Pakistan also welcomes the Global Security Initiative Concept Document that China presented.
He claimed that this year has seen severe floods, earthquakes, and other natural calamities in several countries, including Pakistan. The world community’s willingness to assist these nations’ citizens is a powerful demonstration of how far-reaching human cooperation and solidarity can go. He continued by saying that Pakistan, as China’s good friend, brother, neighbour, and partner, will always stand with China in supporting world peace and development. —APP
