Chinese investors visit Gwadar, discuss projects under CPEC
investors visit Gwadar for future business ventures.
Dunya News Report (Yaruq Malik)
ISLAMABAD: Officials from the Chinese Development Bank and the Centre of Social and Economic Development Research visited Gwadar and inspected the port city for a possible investment under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Chairman Gwadar Port Authority (GPA), Dostain Khan Jamaldani, alongside the Director General of Gwadar Development Authority, Sajjad Hussain, welcomed the two Chinese delegations and gave a briefing on the projects currently under work. The Chinese delegations were led by the Vice President of China’s Central Development Bank, Xaio Mingzheng and the Chief of the Centre for Social and Economic Development Research, Duan Linyun.
The officials from China visited the Port Civic Centre, Gwadar Free Trade Zone, Gwadar Development Authority and Gwadar Port Complex. The team from China Central Development Bank voiced their interest towards investing in Gwadar and the projects that are under the domain of CPEC.
Previously, the executive secretary of the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Dr Shamshad Akhtar, had praised the initiatives taken by the federal government through projects like CPEC to bring economic prosperity in Pakistan.
The UN official stated that projects like CPEC and the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline will ensure a better living standard for the people in the region and will bring economical development in Pakistan. She also praised the efforts made by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to bring an economical change in the country through his efforts since he took charge of the office in 2013.
During a meeting with the Prime Minister, Dr Shamshad Akhtar stated that through CPEC, Pakistan will enhance its regional stability. She added that Pakistan’s economy needs an uplift which will be triggered through such projects in the long run (CPEC). Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif stated that the federal government has helped Pakistan to come out of the economical crisis that it faced when the government took charge in 2013.
He also said that the law and order situation in Pakistan has improved immensely due to which Pakistan is viewed as a ‘different’ country as it was viewed a few years ago.
“Our government has pulled the country out of numerous crises and today Pakistan is viewed as a different country from what it was a few years ago.” said the PM.
Moreover, talking on CPEC, Maulana Haideri said that the project has the capability to change the destiny of the people of Balochistan. He added that through CPEC, Pakistan will greatly improve its image in the world. He warned the provinces over the increasing conspiracies being crafted by the neighboring states against the implementation of CPEC in Pakistan.
“India and other neighboring countries are not happy with CPEC and have been hatching conspiracies to create doubts and misunderstandings among the provinces on the project,” he said.
Furthermore, Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif made it clear that the security forces of Pakistan will make certain that every project under CPEC is implemented successfully at all costs. A Special Security Division (SSD) has been created to monitor and provide security to every project that comes under CPEC. During a recent visit to the headquarters of SSD, General Sharif instructed the task force to ensure the successful implementation of every project under the economic corridor.
The army chief stated that he is aware of every campaign that is working against the success of the CPEC project and ensured that the military will resist any negativity that harms its implementation.
“We are aware of all the campaigns against CPEC,” said the army chief.
Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal insists that Pakistan’s business and investment profile has improved internationally with the commencement of CPEC. He said that Pakistan’s economy has improved with the recent efforts made by the federal government and the law and order situation across the country has also shown promising results as compared to the past.
Speaking about Vision 2025, Mr. Iqbal stated that under ‘Vision-2025’, we wish to restructure the business portfolio of Pakistan in multiple sectors and to create a roadmap that takes Pakistan into the top 25 economies of the world.
“Under Vision-2025, we are restructuring portfolio of our productive sectors on cluster-based approach to transform agriculture, industry and mineral sectors. The target is ambitious but achievable if the government, private sector and academia synergize their efforts to achieve eight percent growth rate annually in the next 10 years,” the minister said.
He emphasized that the way the international community pictures Pakistan has changed immensely in 2016 from 2013. He said that 2016 will be year of productivity, quality and innovation in Pakistan.
“The world now recognizes Pakistan as the next emerging success story. We have also declared 2016 as the year of productivity, quality and innovation to become competitive on the international market. We are mobilizing the indigenous resources to develop an export thrust for the economy.” he stated.
Under CPEC, China is said to reduce its route cost by thousands of kilometers for its oil and gas imports from Africa and the Middle East.
