China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) that is a major and pilot project of Belt and Road initiative leads to creating stability in Pakistan.
More particularly, the initiative’s infrastructure projects have significantly reduced the recruitment of Jihadists in the country, said Khalid Hashim, managing director of Precious Shipping PCL based in Bangkok, Thailand at the week-long Dubai Maritime summit, reports Chinese media on Friday.
By 2018, Chinese power generation projects in Pakistan will reach a share of one-third of the country’s power consumption, he said while commenting on CPEC’s contribution to socio-economic development of Pakistan.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, he added provides not only new stimulus for a region stretching from East Asia to Europe, but it will also promote political stability mainly in Central Asia and the Middle East.
“The initiative is 12 times bigger than what the United States invested in Europe under the Marshall Plan following the Second World War,” he added.
Hashim said that Arab countries struck in political turmoils like Libya or Tunisia could benefit likewise and find their way back to stability if the initiative’s projects can generate prosperity and jobs in North Africa.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative is a master plan to integrate 65 countries from East Asia via Central Asia, the Middle East, East Africa to Western Europe. It was launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in September 2013.
The initiative is poised to improve the standards of living for 4.4 billion people, more than half of the world’s total population, according to Hashim.
Echoing Hashim’s words, Stephan Pietrus, a member of the Board at the Maritime Cluster Northern Germany, said that more trade via the maritime routes with Asia can create more jobs both in Europe and Asia.
