Pakistan Ambassador to China Masood Khan said on Saturday that Pakistan would welcome China’s help in the development of the Gwadar port.
Talking to journalists, the Pakistan envoy termed the Gwadar port the gateway to the Middle East and Indian Ocean economies.
“China has already built the Gwadar port. We want to develop it further. We will welcome a role by China in the future,” he said.
He said that Pakistan needed to develop rail, road, air and communication networks. “When this network is fully operational from Gwadar to Khunjerab, Urumqi, Beijing and Shanghai, it will give alternative choices to China for its trade with the Middle East and Europe. This alternative route will be much shorter than the one passing through the Malacca Straits,” he said.
Khan said that Pakistan and China had a common goal of making South Asia a prosperous region. “The two countries have common interests. Both want peace and stability in the region. Both want this region to prosper,” he said.
He said that traditionally Pakistan and China had collaborated closely in the UN and multilateral forums. “We support each other on issues like the UN reform, disarmament, climate change, food security and international financial matters,” he said.
He mentioned that Pakistan and China were cooperating in many sectors, including energy, telecommunications, agriculture and infrastructure. “China’s top brands are already in Pakistan. We are working on enhanced and assured inflows of Chinese investment in Pakistan”, he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 14th, 2011.
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