ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform, Professor Ahsan Iqbal Saturday said that maximum benefits would be achieved from China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, undertaken by both the countries.
Addressing an International Academic Symposium on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor held at Peking University in Beijing, the Minister said the bilateral cooperation would grow from strength to strength with the success of the corridor, according to a press release received here.
“The ultimate objective [of CPEC] is peace, prosperity and well-being of the people of the two countries, the region and the world,” he said, hoping that further understanding on CPEC, achieved during the symposium, could provide further improvements to the corridor’s planning.
Ahsan Iqbal highlighted recent progress on CPEC, saying that the long-term planning was expected to be finalized by July this year and the working group on industrial cooperation was also expected to meet around the same time.
He said that the land for Free Zone at Gwadar had been transferred to the Chinese company operating the port, for development as an industrial area.
He said that it was hoped that economic activity along the corridor would flourish and more industrial activity would be generated in industrial zones and estates in Pakistan, through forward and backward linkages.
He said Pakistan would be keen to use the opportunity to set up enterprises that become part of the global value chain of products traded internationally.
The minister said that both sides were committed that fruits of development of the corridor should benefit all areas of Pakistan, consistent with scientific planning parameters.
He said that CPEC would connect the nodes of growth centers including significant growth centers of Kashgar, Taxkorgan, Khunjrab, Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Sukkur, Quetta, Karachi, Gwadar etc and such other nodes/growth centers which may fall within the CPEC in future.
Ahsan Iqbal said the corridor would be connected with trade facilitation corridors, dedicated freight corridors, energy corridors, trade logistics corridor, telecommunications corridors and other corridors of the like.
On the occasion, Ambassador Masood Khalid described CPEC as a catalyst of regional economic integration and a vital bridge at the confluence of the Road and the Belt, being located at the crossroads of Central Asia, the Middle East and South Asia.
