CPEC to Usher Prosperity and Progress in Pakistan and the Region: Ahsan Iqbal
Washington DC: To highlight the significance of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a special event was held at the Embassy of Pakistan on February 8.
Mr Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Interior, Planning, Development & Reforms was the keynote speaker at the event. In his speech the Minister stated that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will usher prosperity and progress not only in Pakistan but in the entire region. He informed that major infrastructure projects related to CPEC were nearing completion within the timelines. Both China and Pakistan are keen to operationalize CPEC at the earliest so that it could stimulate the economy and bring about a meaningful change in the lives of the people.
There is great scope for the extension of CPEC projects to other countries. He also said that Pakistan’s economy registered an impressive growth rate of 5.3% last year and is projected to rise to 6% in the current fiscal year. It would further go up as the economic dividends of CPEC are realized.
Earlier, Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry in his opening remarks, said that CPEC was a visionary initiative of the Governments of China and Pakistan which had the potential of bringing economic benefits to both countries and the region for decades. CPEC represents the transformation of a long-standing and time-tested strategic friendship of China and Pakistan from the political to the economic sphere. The people of both countries are excited by the opportunities that CPEC would present.
Moderating the event, DrEhtisham Ahmed, a renowned economist and former senior World Bank / IMF official, remarked that CPEC was generating great interest around the world and implementation of this project was part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The success of CPEC would demonstrate that the Belt and Road Initiative could transform the economic future of the region.
The event was widely attended by foreign policy experts as well as members of the Pakistani-American community.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
