Time ripe to get benefit as CPEC making tremendous progress: Ahsan
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Prof Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday said China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was making tremendous progress with the completion of infrastructure and energy projects and time was ripe to get benefits from the major initiative.
The Chinese investment, technology and Pakistani location with low production cost combined together made a winning combination, he said while addressing a national conference here on ‘Changing Security in South Asia and Development of CPEC’. Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) and Hanns Seidel Foundation organized the two-day conference.
The minister said through various energy projects power shortage would be overcome, which was the first prerequisite of industrial development.
“The present government has ensured generation of 10,000 MW electricity as compared to 16,000 MW, which was generated during 66 years. The energy security would ensure economic security for the country,” Ahsan Iqbal, who is also Minister for Planning Development and Reforms, said.
“In the past, the country was facing 20-hour long electricity shortages. Now electricity is available 20 hours a day.” Ahsan Iqbal said development and improved standard of living was not possible without peace, stability and harmony. The world had entered the information age and countries were competing for
economic ascendancy.
“If there is a conflict, then the development process gets stalled,” he maintained.
He said the second requirement of industrial development was strong infrastructure and in coming years the Gwadar port would also have further improved infrastructure through road and modern airport.
As for peace and security, a requirement for industrial investment and development, he mentioned that the government had taken solid steps to improve the security situation in the country.
Ahsan Iqbal said with the momentum of CPEC a world of opportunities had opened up setting fundamentals of industrial cooperation between Pakistan and China, fast in place.
“Pakistan was committed to peace in the region and would not allow anybody to use its soil for terrorism,” he said and added the government was working in coordination with other governments to promote regional peace.
He said only a strong economy with favourable environment would ensure development and prosperity.
The minister said Pakistan had defeated terrorism and now its economy, sports activities and tourism were being revived. He said Pakistan was on the path of recovery, contrary to 2013, when security situation was not well, but now there was renewed optimism and energy.
He said as a developing country, Pakistan needed to harness its human and natural resources. It needed to make speedy progress by enhancing cooperation.
He said the future belonged to those who blended science with economy and focused on innovation and creativity for achieving development.
Describing the opportunities in Pakistan, he said with a large middle income population, Pakistan was an attractive choice and explained the available opportunities in different sectors of economy.
He highlighted their potential to create employment at grass-roots level and asked Chinese businesses to join joint ventures to make win-win platforms for both themselves and Pakistani businessmen so as to develop and maintain goodwill by more mutual and partnership based relationship.
Ahsan Iqbal said CPEC should not be made controversial as it would bring about sustainable prosperity in Pakistan as well as the region.
He said there could not be sustained economic growth and development in an environment riven by deep mistrust and long- standing disputes and conflicts. South Asia needed to follow the Chinese ambitions of mutual development and common interests in order to give impetus to vision of shared destinies if the region wanted to become peaceful and prosperous.
Through CPEC, he added, South Asia would cease to be a corridor of conflict and become a corridor of cooperation. “But for this we need to continue engagement at all levels and remain firmly resolute in our commitment to peace,” he said, adding CPEC was a collaborative project between the two most
reliable partners in the world – Pakistan and China – especially given their time-tested friendship.
The minister said think-tanks, academics, business leaders around the globe were engaged in discussing CPEC, which reflected its true potential and importance. South Asians needed to come together and create an enabling environment to embrace security and well-being which CPEC was offering.
Under the Vision 2025, he said, the Government of Pakistan had envisaged the country as a hub of trade, commerce and connectivity. “Critics may argue that the government is just building roads, but in reality everything whether it is health services, education, or business needs better connectivity without
which nothing is possible.”
In the past, it took two days to travel from Gwadar to Quetta, its own provincial headquarter, and now with the expressway, it took eight hours, he remarked.
Pakistan, he said, must learn from China which gave zero space to internal conflicts and focused on political and economic stability. – APP
Story first published: 19th September 2017
Article source: https://www.samaa.tv/economy/2017/09/time-ripe-get-benefit-cpec-making-tremendous-progress-ahsan/