CPEC a ‘shared prosperity’ for Pak, China

Pakistan Ambassador to China Khalil Hashmi has said that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its flagship project – China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – is a practical manifestation of win-win cooperation and shared prosperity for both China and Pakistan and the countries participating in the initiative.

Sharing his vision for collaboration between China and Pakistan in the upcoming decade, he told CGTN in an interview that there is an excellent foundation that already exists in the last 10 years or before. “So, going forward, we have the essential constituents, which is the infrastructure and energy in place.”

Expressing a need to intensify focus on industrial cooperation, he said, it means special economic zones, enhanced trade and investment and cooperation in Information Technology and agriculture, adding there are also areas within these bigger fields.

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Expressing his resolve to deepen the economic relationship between the two countries, he said, Pakistan and China have signed a free trade agreement. They have signed five protocols on agriculture this year. Pakistan’s exports to China have increased. Trade volume between the two countries has increased.

On connectivity projects from the Karakoram Highway to the Gwadar port to enhance ties between the two countries, he said, these projects are essentially about connectivity and infrastructure development. But more than that it is a vehicle or a means for people-centred development to use it as a platform to enhance livelihoods for people.

He said the Silk Road is an ancient connection for the people and in the 1960s, the two countries jointly built Karakoram Highway. With the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor coming into play in the last 10 years, we are going into a new high gear which is Phase II of the Karakoram Highway.