LAHORE: Welcoming the resolve of the incumbent government for completion of all CPEC projects on priority basis, analysts believed the CPEC will enable Pakistan to boost its industrial sector as well.
Former ambassador Ali Sarwar Naqvi said: “China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was initiated at a time when Pakistan was confronting a big challenge of terrorism and no country was willing to invest in Pakistan. CPEC is the main source of foreign direct investment in the country. Unfortunately, the work on CPEC in the tenure of the previous government slowed down”.
Ali Sarwar Naqvi said the first phase of the CPEC has been completed and the second phase is underway that must be completed within the timeframe. The CPEC is the part of Belt and Road Initiative that has been extended to over forty countries of Africa and Asia. However, some elements have been trying to sabotage the project that needs to be countered. It is the responsibility of every government in power to give prime focus to complete this mega project as it is going to stabilize our economy, he said.
Another former diplomat Mushtaq Ahmed Mehar said: “It is a good development that messages have been exchanged between Pakistan and China as it had been quite some time that we heard something positive. The exchange of greetings between the top leadership of both the countries is a welcoming step”.
Now China is willing to invest in the agriculture and IT sectors in Pakistan that will help to improve the production, he said, adding: “Research-based techniques are required for effective use of water for irrigation purposes”. Unfortunately, the work on development projects under CPEC slowed down but the incumbent government is determined to complete it within specified time, he added.
“China is unconditionally offering all the regional countries to become part of economic projects under its Belt and Road Initiative. Sooner or later, Shanghai Cooperation Organization will become the most effective and influential organization in the world”, he said.
International Expert, Dr Rizwan Naseer said the Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is going to attend an important summit on Global Food Security on the invitation of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. In this summit intellectual debates on world issues will be held. Pakistan’s participation in the summit is going to uplift the agenda of the meeting as Pakistan is among the countries where most of the population is relies on agriculture for survival. China through use of new technology maximized its production in the agriculture sector and is exporting its agri products to other countries as well, he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022