The $40 billion Silk Road infrastructure fund by China will bring over fifty countries in Asia, Europe and Africa closer by boosting connectivity, said Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF) and All Karachi Industrial Alliance President and Businessmen Panel (BMP) of FPCCI First Vice Chairman Mian Zahid Hussain on Monday.
The former provincial minister said that the amount allocated to resurrect the old Silk Road trading route and sea-related projects will be increased with the passage of time as initial allocation is insufficient. He said that the project is focused on Asia with Pakistan and Central Asian states getting more benefits than others.
He said the Silk Road had existed for thousands of years. It enriched the countries it passed through, transporting material goods, cultures, knowledge, religions, arts, and languages into societies across Asia, Europe, and Africa and uniting them all with a common thread of cultural heritage.
Hussain said that China had produced over 25 percent of the global GDP for centuries but the industrial revolution in West slowed it down. Now, China is regaining its lost glory which is not acceptable to the US. He said the US, India and Japan had joined hands to counter Chinese influence, especially in Asia.
He said India is eying oil and gas and minerals in Afghanistan and Central Asia for a long time, therefore, it does not want China’s influence in the region to increase. Moreover, international lenders are uneasy with the establishment of Asia Infrastructure Investment. He said that Banks have decided to increase loans significantly to counter China. However, they have a serious image issue in the developing world, he said, adding that the developing countries would benefit amid power struggles among influential nations.
Wow so Pakistan is on it's way to emerge as a strong country once again after 1998
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