CPEC praised for enhancing regional connectivity

Experts advise against making the project controversial or political

LAHORE: The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a unique opportunity to integrate regional economies, an analyst on contemporary politics and international relations Dr Saad S Khan said while talking to APP. He further said CPEC will open attractive avenues for investment through economic cooperation between ‘two rising powers of Asia’.

Veteran economist Dr Ashfaq Hassan said CPEC project was being perceived as a 'game-changer’ and would prove to be a harbinger of economic development.



“People of all the four provinces including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir will benefit from CPEC projects”, he added.

Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) Executive Director Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri said that the historic project would also increase standards of living of people in Pakistan and neighboring countries.

“CPEC must not be politicised,” he said, adding that it should remain open to all countries. Chairman National Parliamentary Committee on CPEC, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, said CPEC would interlink hearts, adding the implementation of this historic project will expand mutual collaboration.

Highlighting improvements to regional connectivity arising out of CPEC, Syed said the project will make Pakistan a hub of cross-regional trade and a channel through which such trade flows.

Chairman Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Siddiqul Farooq said that Pak-China relations were touching new heights after the CPEC, as the project had created tremendous opportunities of investment in Punjab and other areas of the country.

He said the PML-N government had given solid economic shape to Pak-China friendship at a large scale, adding that China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) had ushered in a new era of durable Pak-China relations.

“We will also give the legacy of a better future to our future generations in shape of CPEC”, he said and added that officials of China and Pakistan were working as a team to move the project further.



Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industries (LCCI) standing committee on Customs and Dry Ports Convener Aftab Ahmed Vohra said the mega project coupled with relative political stability and 42-year low interest rates was contributing towards creating an atmosphere ripe for international investment.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 15^th, 2017.

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