BEIJING: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said that his government looks forward to making Pakistan a major contributor to building a community of shared future for mankind through China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
“Together with China, we look forward to making Pakistan a major contributor to building a community of shared future for mankind through CPEC,” he told People’s Daily in an interview.
The prime minister spoke highly of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as well as CPEC, calling it a transformative project representing economic cooperation between Pakistan and China. He said the BRI is a truly global public good as it is designed to impact positively a vast number of people living in geographically distinct areas but bound together by the dream of improved lives and better access to roads, infrastructure, sustainable energy and better resources. As the flagship project of the BRI, CPEC epitomizes the vision of the two countries for comprehensive and broad-based economic cooperation, he said.
“The energy projects conceived under CPEC have alleviated the energy crisis in Pakistan and we have been successful in adding thousands of megawatts of electricity to the national grid,” he said. CPEC energy projects have diversified Pakistan’s energy mix with investments in the country’s hydro, wind, solar and hydrocarbon energy sectors, he said. “The initial phase of the CPEC has done extremely well. A network of roads is under construction and Gwadar port infrastructure is being developed. It has indeed been a game changer,” he said.
Abbasi said that Pakistan is now looking forward to the next stage of CPEC development – setting up of special economic zones – which he believes will not only strengthen the economic and industrial base of the country but also generate thousands of jobs. Early completion of the road and rail network and modernization and development of Gwadar Port are also expected to transform Pakistan from an agrarian economy to a logistics’ hub transporting goods from China to the region and the world.
Published in Daily Times, April 9th 2018.
