UNITED NATIONS: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would bring economic benefits not only in Pakistan and China but also the entire region.
The prime minister said this, while addressing a high-level Roundtable on South Asia Cooperation, co-chaired by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Sharif said that the CPEC is an “inspiring model” of South-South cooperation, adding that cooperation among developing countries played a significant role in promoting development and prosperity in the region.
He said CPEC project formed an important component of President Xi Jinping’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative. “We greatly admire the vision underlying this initiative,” the prime minister said and added this development strategy and framework offered new opportunities for Asia’s transformation and prosperity. Pakistan, the prime minister said, considered South-South cooperation in trade, investment, human resource development, technology and financial resource generation in its interest.
Sharif said that further strengthening of institutional support from the UN System would help maximize the impact of South-South cooperation, as such an approach would help sustain development efforts and ensure enhanced participation of developing countries in the global economy, in conformity with the new agenda. The roundtable was held on the margins of the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit and the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The event would provide a platform to exchange views and share insights on ways in which South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation could contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The high-level roundtable would also provide a platform to scale-up South-South cooperation in implementing the Post-2015 Development Agenda, and urge developed countries to meet their relevant development cooperation commitments and to encourage the UN system to provide greater support to South-South cooperation. The prime minister said business and private sectors also had an important role in promoting economic opportunities, innovation and high impact solutions. Pakistan, he said, was also extending training and technical support to developing countries in a number of diverse fields. He said Pakistan’s Specialized Technical Assistance Programme for Africa dated back to 1986 and it was an institutionalised and fully funded programme.
He said Pakistan’s Foreign Service Academy in Islamabad had been offering training facilities to Africa, Central Asia and other regions. He said the established principles and provisions of South-South cooperation should continue to guide this collaborative framework. The prime minister said this gathering had come at a pivotal moment and together, an enormous effort had been made to make the Post-2015 Development Agenda responsive to the challenges and aspirations. “Unity of purpose and a shared vision for prosperity has been our loadstar,” he said, adding that “South-South cooperation is unique, for it is a cooperation among equals, based on solidarity. Its role in promoting development and resilience in our countries is significant”. Nawaz Sharif said the 2008 global economic crisis reinforced the potential of South-South cooperation and induced the spirit of collective self-reliance. He said South-South trade flows had been enhanced tremendously as a consequence of trade liberalisation and enhanced connectivity. He said intra-South trade was now estimated to be over $4 trillion and investment flows to developing countries were on the rise. They account for over 50% of the global foreign direct investment. Almost a third originated from the South. The prime minister said development assistance within the developing world was estimated to be between $12 and $16 billion. “This dynamism has vastly increased the scope for cooperation among our countries,” he said. He said that Pakistan’s Programme for Reconstruction and Rehabilitation in Afghanistan that began in 2002 with a financial commitment of 385 million dollars was scaled up to 500 million dollars in 2013.
