Pakistan completes projects worth $25b under CPEC

BEIJING/ISLAMABAD:

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Wednesday said that Pakistan had completed more than 50 projects worth $25 billion under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Kakar was speaking at the third Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in Beijing.

The CPEC is a flagship project under China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), with more than $65 billion pledged for road, rail, and other infrastructure development projects in Pakistan.

"We have completed over 50 projects worth $25 billion under the CPEC," Kakar said, adding that a very significant airport at the southwestern Gwadar port, which was being built with Chinese money as part of the CPEC, would soon be inaugurated.

Gwadar is located near the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil shipping route in the Arabian Sea.

Beijing has invested heavily in the mineral-rich province of Balochistan, including developing the deepwater port.

Chinese President Xi Jinping began the Belt and Road Initiative about a decade ago, aiming to build infrastructure and energy networks connecting Asia with Africa and Europe through overland and maritime routes.

Representatives of more than 130 countries, largely from the Global South, attended the forum, including several heads of state, of whom the most prominent was Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Building industrial zones with Chinese and local Pakistani collaboration remains in the pipeline, together with a rail track of over 2600km costing nearly $7 billion, the biggest single project under the CPEC.

Read also: CPEC made Pakistan into trade, transit hub: PM Kakar

Clean energy projects were expected to be completed in the next four to five years under the CPEC, Kakar said.

Separately, Prime Minister Kakar and Chinese Premier Li Qiang met on the sidelines of the third BRF and discussed the bilateral ties.

They agreed to further strengthen high-level dialogue and engagement besides deepening the political, economic, education, science and technology, cultural and people-to-people relations.

Accompanied by ministers and senior officials, the two leaders reaffirmed the time-tested and iron-clad friendship between Pakistan and China.

Prime Minister Kakar extended felicitations to the Chinese leadership on the successful holding of the third BRF.

Noting the depth and breadth of the BRI, the prime minister termed it a project of immense significance for the world in terms of connectivity and shared prosperity.

The two leaders discussed bilateral collaboration in the context of CPEC and prospects of further deepening economic linkages.

Kakar underscored the importance of CPEC for Pakistan’s economy, noting with satisfaction its expansion into new areas of development – including industrial development; livelihood projects; ICT; mining and minerals exploration and agriculture.

He expressed the confidence that Chinese investment in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) would contribute in diversification of Pakistan’s export basket and expansion of its industrial base.

Read: PM Kakar arrives in Beijing to attend Belt and Road forum

Premier Qiang underlined the steady growth of bilateral cooperation and noted the positive momentum of CPEC projects.

He hoped that leadership consensus would give further boost to trade and economic relations between the two countries.

The two premiers also witnessed the signing ceremony of several MoUs/agreements in the areas of commerce, communication and transport, including MLI, connectivity food security and research, media exchanges, space cooperation, urban sustainable development, capacity building, mineral development and industrial cooperation, climate change, vaccine development.

Meanwhile, PM Kakar met with Member of the Standing Committee of Politburo of Communist Party of China Li Xi and discussed bilateral relations.

They expressed the collective resolve to enhance economic cooperation, with renewed focus on the centrality of CPEC and its high-quality development.

The prime minister congratulated Li on the successful hosting of the third BRF by China and felicitated him on his election as the member of Politburo Standing Committee.

The two leaders reaffirmed the commitment of Pakistan and China to strengthen bilateral political and economic ties and their unwavering support to each other on core issues.

The two leaders also discussed measures to increase the volume of Chinese investment in Pakistan, especially in ICT, mining, infrastructure and agriculture sectors.

They emphasised the importance of expanding industrial cooperation and the development of SEZs in Pakistan.

PM Kakar and Li exchanged views on anti-corruption and financial discipline.

The prime minister briefed the Chinese leader about measures taken by Pakistan for transparent and inclusive governance and evinced interest to learn from the Chinese experience.