- The three nations hold first round of Trilateral Practical Cooperation Dialogue
- An official tells Pakistan Today that Afghanistan would gain enormously if it joins CPEC or OBOR
Pakistan, China and Afghanistan Saturday agreed to “advance practical cooperation” in various areas so as to promote mutual benefit and regional economic integration under the framework of the One Belt and One Road (OBOR) Initiative.
The agreement came during the first round of the Practical Cooperation Dialogue between China, Afghanistan and Pakistan in Beijing.
“The three sides noted that trilateral cooperation among Pakistan, Afghanistan and China is conducive to peace, stability and development in Afghanistan and the region. The three countries appreciated the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and its benefits for promoting regional connectivity,” an official handout issued here by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The CPEC is expected to be a “game-changer” in South Asia for being the flagship project of the ambitious OBOR initiative, also called as BRI. It was launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013.
The CPEC is a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure development project that aims to connect China’s Xinjiang region to Pakistan’s Gwadar port. Naturally, with the arrival of such a large-scale infrastructure investments, the CPEC has drawn the attention of other regional actors, especially Afghanistan and India.
Since October 2016, Afghanistan has expressed a strong desire to join and has even done so through official channels. For instance, Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Pakistan Dr Omar Zakhilwal emphasised his country’s interest in joining CPEC, stressing that a development project of this scale would be beneficial not only to Pakistan but also for the entire region.
“The three sides exchanged in-depth views on trilateral cooperation in a friendly atmosphere and agreed to promote practical measures for cooperation. The three sides agreed to organise workshops, seminars and different forums,” the handout said.
The dialogue was co-chaired by Director General Mansoor Ahmad Khan of Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Director General Xiao Qian from Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Director General Khalid Payenda of Afghan Ministry of Finance.
“China and Pakistan will explore trilateral cooperation in areas of infrastructure, energy, education, health, agriculture, human resource training, and capacity building based on the needs of Afghanistan and according to China and Pakistan’s respective assistance programmes for Afghanistan,” the statement said.
“The three sides highly appreciated the outcome of discussions and agreed to make the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Practical Cooperation Dialogue a regular forum,” the statement added.
An official privy to the details of the meeting told Pakistan Today that Afghanistan would gain enormously if it joins the CPEC or OBOR.
“As a landlocked, terrorism-hit and militancy-prone state, Afghanistan is desperate to put an end to its geographic isolation and bring in funding for infrastructural development and uplifting its economy by access to the Chinese investors,” said the source.
However, the official added, expanding terrorism and worsening security situation is a major cause of Afghanistan’s isolation and instability.
“No country wants to come and invest in the country which is witnessing turmoil and terrorism since the 1970s. Afghanistan’s trade has been steadily declining since 2014, when a large number of international forces began to withdraw from the country,” the official added.
The Taliban’s resurgence—which coincided with the withdrawal of US forces—has led to several large-scale attacks in the country.
The CPEC is bringing industrialisation and investment to Pakistan, the carry-over effects of which will benefit neighbouring Afghanistan.
In fact, Pakistan has already undertaken the building of several roads to improve connectivity between the two countries.
The official said that the 75-km-long Torkham-Jalalabad road is one of the infrastructure development initiatives taken to provide a better and secure link with Afghanistan.
“Moreover, the Peshawar-Torkham road is another connection which suggests that Pakistan is already planning to turn the nodes of the CPEC into Afghanistan,” the official added.
While both these developments have faced considerable completion challenges, they are a step toward increasing connectivity with Pakistan; in turn, gaining Afghan access to CPEC.
“Moreover, Pakistan has constructed two roads leading from DI Khan to Angoor Adda and Ghulam Khan, linking with the Paktika and Khost provinces of Afghanistan respectively. These roads will enable Afghan businessmen and investors to access the enormous consumer markets in South Asia. This would increase Afghanistan’s exports, reducing the costs of imports,” the official added.
By becoming a part of CPEC in specific and OBOR in general, Afghanistan will have new vistas and avenues to help stabilise its economy by enhancing its trade opportunities.
In 2015, over 70 per cent of Afghanistan’s total exports were either to Pakistan or to India. Afghanistan’s major exports have been carpets, rugs, dried fruit, and medicinal plants, not the copper, iron ore, and other valuable resources Afghanistan is known to possess in abundance.
However, by joining the wider OBOR network, Afghanistan would have an opportunity to have an access to markets in China, Central Asia and parts of Europe, which Afghanistan currently lacks in order to carry out the trade with these markets extensively. Moreover, this would also bring about an opportunity for Afghanistan to diversify its trade by exporting its mineral resources, including copper, iron, gemstones, etc. to countries on the OBOR.
