Summary Aziz addressed a seminar titled Emerging Security Order in Asia-Pacific and its Impact on South Asia
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) – Prime Minister’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Wednesday stated that cooperation between Pakistan and China are focused on economic development through connectivity and is not against any other country.
Addressing the concluding session of IPRI’s Seminar in Islamabad, Aziz said Pakistan seeks to establish and sustain long-lasting and mutually beneficial relationships with the global and regional players in Asia.
He said Pakistan has the distinction of forging and maintaining Strategic Dialogue with both the US and China.
“We have vibrant and robust relations with another power in the region, i.e. Russia. From Pakistan s perspective, China together with the United States and Russia, are important pillars in the newly emerging economic and security order of the region,” he said.
The Advisor said that Pakistan is the regional round about located at the crossroads of South, Central and West Asia, Pakistan is uniquely located to gain from stability and peace in Asia as a whole.
“These expectations are based the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC. It is a mutually symbiotic project serving energy and transport requirements across South and Central Asia with the aim to link to shipping routes of the Arabian Sea.
The strategic port of Gwadar is the hub around which CPEC rotates. Thus, ASEAN as a whole can be connected to the markets of Central and West Asia, adding another dimension to market competition and economic diversity in the region, he said.
Sartaz Aziz said the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the only corridor which is connected to another corridor and helps provide landlocked countries with access to sea.
Massive investments in infrastructure envisaged under CPEC seek, inter alia, to tackle the menace of terrorism. The size of the investment over the next 15 years when materialized, will equal the cumulative gross FDI inflows in Pakistan since its creation, he added.
Commenting of Pak-US ties, the Advisor observed that Pakistan believes that a resilient US - Pakistan partnership is vital to regional and global peace and will bolster the mutual commitment of the two countries to democracy.
“The US has also reaffirmed its support for the Afghanistan - Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement, Central Asia - South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA-1000), Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan - India (TAPI) natural gas pipeline project, along with other measures to enhance regional economic connectivity and growth,” he said.
Sartaj Aziz said it is unfortunate that some other countries in the region are trying to divert attention away from the importance of CPEC.
“India s loud objections to CPEC and their attempts to gain support of elements hostile to Pakistan in the region are ill-advised. Pakistan has had to overcome many challenges in its bilateral ties with India in the past. However, the recent deviation of India from all invitations to dialogue and peace belie its commitment to peace and harmony in the region. While Pakistan favours normalization of its ties with India, we also expect reciprocity from India with respect and dignity,” he said.
At the end, Sartaj Aziz said regional forums have demonstrated a remarkable capability to nimbly adapt to changing balance of power in the region. There is a place under inclusive leadership for various leadership roles played by great powers and small states alike. While the merits of this approach cannot be overlooked, territorial and border disputes in the region continue to have their strong bearing in the region and if left unresolved, politics of ‘re-balancing’ and the beginning of a new cold war , will continue to haunt us.
