ISLAMABAD: Executive Director, Center for South Asia and International Studies (CSAIS) Islamabad, Dr Mehmood Ul Hassan Khan on Thursday said the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) had helped build an enabling economic environment in Pakistan as energy, education and the economy being among its key pillars.
China had invested US$25.4 billion in direct projects in Pakistan, creating 236,000 jobs, generating 8,000 megawatts of electricity, and building 510 kilometers of highways and 886 km of the national electricity grid, said a press release issued here.
Also, about 28,000 Pakistani students were studying in China and more than 20,000 Pakistanis were learning Chinese, he said.
Dr Mehmood said that all prominent national experts were of the view that CPEC was a blessing and guarantor of our future socio-economic prosperity and eradication of poverty.
Meanwhile, talking on the 3rd Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Forum, he said that during his keynote speech, the Chinese president Xi covered all aspects of BRI’s past achievements, present status and future priorities.
It was constructive, positive, and productive, giving the message of hope of a brighter future through international cooperation, economic globalization, openness, inclusiveness, modernization and qualitative industrialization in all the member countries and rest of the world, he said.
It clearly explained the important experience in achieving the success of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and proposes China’s support. It was a clear demonstration of the Chinese Geo-Economics, he said.
Moreover, the speech was highly constructive, positive and effective.
He said President Xi’s pledged that the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China would each set up CNY 350 billion financing windows, and the Silk Road Fund would add CNY 80 billion in funds to support Belt and Road projects through market-oriented and commercial methods.
Thus President Xi initiated a grand financial integration for the member countries of the BRI.
Fortunately, during BRF CEO Forum agreements reached on 97.2 billion US dollars of project cooperation through the Entrepreneur Conference. China will also implement 1,000 small livelihood assistance projects, promote vocational education cooperation between China and foreign countries, and strengthen security guarantees for Belt and Road projects and personnel which is good omen for the development of SMEs in the member countries.
Talking on Strategic significance of the ongoing BRF 2023, he said that the 3rd BRI Forum for International Cooperation was commenced in Beijing, the participation of more than 140 countries and 30 international organizations vividly reflected the strategic importance of BRI in term of socioeconomic development and trans-regional connectivity with the member countries covering more than 75 percent of world population and a large proportion of its GDP.
It was carried out under the theme “High-quality Belt and Road Cooperation: Together for Common Development and Prosperity”, the forum, apart from the opening ceremony, consists of three high-level meetings for in-depth discussions on connectivity, green development and the digital economy, and six thematic forums on trade connectivity, people-to-people relationship, exchanges among think tanks, green Silk Road, subnational cooperation and maritime cooperation.
He said the BRF 2023 had also far reaching geostrategic importance and implications.
Dr Mehmood said the Chinese BRI had been providing essential X-Factors of development, connectivity, economic globalization, international cooperation, innovations, modernization and last but not least qualitative industrialization to all the member countries and rest of the world.
Moreover, the US Congress passed the BUILD Act (Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development Act) having a financial outlay of $60 billion for infrastructure projects.
In this connection, in 2021, at the G7 Summit in Cornwall, the United Kingdom, US President Joe Biden announced the “Build Back Better World” (B3W) initiative. Subsequently, the European Union launched its copycat version, Golden Gateway (GGW), to compete with the BRI. None has shown any concrete outcomes in terms of projects launched.
Executive Director, Center for South Asia & International Studies (CSAIS) said that three high-level forums on connectivity, green development and the digital economy were also held during the 3rd BRF. It also had many thematic sub-forums on trade connectivity, people-to-people communication, think tank exchanges, a clean Silk Road, subnational cooperation and maritime cooperation which show its global utility consisting of development, diversification and digitalization.
He said the most recently published BRI’s White Paper highlights its important role in international cooperation covering all areas of geo-economics, connectivity and human capital growth through close policy liaison, infrastructure development, beneficial trade system, and closer people-to-people exchanges.
Moreover, it mitigated global development economic challenges and improved the global governance system.
It carried people’s friendly policies/projects aimed to achieve the desired goals of modernization, qualitative industrialization and digitalization which has now become its biggest achievements.
It ensured real formation of a global community of shared future which should be appreciated.
He said the 3rd BRF 2023 carried the message of befitting international cooperation, beneficial economic globalization, strategic importance of GDI, GSI, GCI and connectivity, development, digitalization, artificial intelligence technologies, modernization, openness and last but not least inclusiveness and green future.
