The Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal has claimed that Pakistan’s economy is now one of the world’s fastest growing economies.
Attending the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Investment Conference in Beijing, Iqbal, along with the Chief Minister of Balochistan Sanaullah Khan Zehri, witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of collaboration between the Pak-China Investment Company, Frontier Works Organisation, and China International Contractors Association during the seminar.
After a $46 billion CPEC investment, China topped the countries which had invested in Pakistani in two years, said Iqbal.
He also gave some interesting insights into the economic development of Pakistan, placing its growth amongst the top eight economies in the world. Calling the CPEC a historic opportunity, he predicted it to have far-reaching impact on Pakistan’s economy and offer equal opportunities of economic up lift to all provinces and regions in the country.
Under the CPEC, energy sector had been prioritized in the first phase. It would help build modern transport infrastructure in the country and make Pakistani economy competitive in the international market.
Addressing Chinese investors, Mr.Iqbal further elaborated on CPEC’s advantages of giving them the opportunity to invest in the minerals, agriculture, infrastructure, technology as well as industrial sectors of Pakistan. Particularly, the mineral-rich provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan are attractive destinations for Chinese investors.
CPEC, a mega-development project between the two countries, is the fruit of a strong relationship of Pakistan with China. Running 3,000 km from Gwadar to Kashgar, it is expected to be completed over several years. The project has also served as an umbrella for a number of other smaller projects including an agreement to work together for advancements in the field of science and technology and a coal project to solve Pakistan’s energy crisis.
Source- Dawn
