CPEC ‘game-changer’ for Pakistan: PM

• Nawaz Sharif says $46 billion project to reduce poverty, unemployment
• $35 billion being invested in energy sector alone to produce 10,400 MW electricity

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Monday the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would not only serve as a “game-changer” for Pakistan, but also as a “fate-changer” for the entire region by helping it rid economic deprivation and attain peace and prosperity.

“The CPEC is a new concept of diplomacy based on shared goals of prosperity for Pakistan and the region, and a project to eliminate poverty, unemployment and under-development,” the premier said in his address at the inaugural session of the two-day China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Summit and Expo.

Sharif said the project would usher in prosperity in the region comprising three billion of the world’s population, almost half of the world. He said the CPEC was not merely a strategic agreement between Pakistan and China, but successful completion of their 65 years of friendship.

The prime minister urged the Pakistani and Chinese nations to interact with each other as “friends and brothers” to make their economies stronger. “By working together, we can bring peace and stability in the region through economic development of our people,” he added.

Sharif said the two sides always supported each other in times of distress, and recalled Chinese assistance to Pakistan following the devastating earthquake in 2005 and floods in 2010.

He said Chinese President Xi Jinping had during his visit to Pakistan in 2014 told parliament that Pakistan stood by China when it was isolated. “Now, China has reached out to Pakistan when it stands economically isolated,” Sharif said recalling the statement of President Xi.

Sharif termed the relationship between the two countries as “very special”, and said the two countries had always supported each other at international fora with a spirit based on trust and honesty.

He termed the CPEC the “most important initiative of the 21st century”, saying it perfectly complimented Pakistan’s vision for 2025.

Sharif said Pakistan was an emerging economy with rich natural resources. He also mentioned the highest GDP in last eight years, with best performing stock market, doubling of the foreign exchange reserves and improved security environment.

The premier said although the economic value of the project was $46 billion, its real impact would be many times more and would have a long lasting effect.

The PM said the project would not only improve Pakistan’s own infrastructure but would also provide it the much needed know-how, knowledge and expertise in new technologies.

He said CPEC would not only create a strong overland link between Pakistan and China but also provide an opportunity to strengthen Pakistan’s own inland transportation and logistics infrastructure. More than ten billion dollars would be spent on railway projects as well as rail infrastructure in Pakistan, he added.

Sharif said $ 35 billion would be invested in the energy sector alone to produce 10,400 MW of electricity. He said the project would benefit all regions of Pakistan and equally benefit Gilgit-Baltistan, remote areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

He described development of Gwadar as the “jewel project” of the entire CPEC, with its own power generation, roads, rail and air-links and would serve as a model smart port city. “Our vision of development is based on inclusive approach for region’s harmony,” he added.

Sharif also mentioned that China would also construct a highway at a cost of $ 162 million to connect with the Gwadar airport to be built with $ 230 million by December 2017.

The event was attended by Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Raja Farooq Haider, Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Advisor to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, PM’s Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi, Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Hafiz Hafeezullah, Chinese ambassador Sun Weidong, Pakistan’s ambassador to China Masood Khalid, Balochistan Assembly Speaker Raheela Durrani, parliamentarians and leading industrialists.

The summit held at the Pakistan China Friendship Centre is being hosted by the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform and marks the third anniversary of the Joint Coordination Committee on CPEC.