CPEC pie eyed: Bahrain to push GCC for dialogue with Pakistan

ALI HUSSAIN

ISLAMABAD: Showing keen interest in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CEPC), Bahrain Monday pledged to push the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - a six-member regional intergovernmental political and economic union - to initiate strategic dialogue with Pakistan.

The visiting Foreign Minister of Bahrain, Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa after co-chairing the first Pak-Bahrain Joint Ministerial Commission along with Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, said that relationship between Pakistan and GCC is historic one which is very deep in every aspect.

"Now we are talking about how to put this relationship in right mechanism under right framework. We the chair of GCC will work with our brothers to start a Strategic Dialogue between the GCC and Pakistan. We look forward to do that and we know that our brothers in GCC are keen to make it happens soon," the foreign minister of Bahrain said during a joint news conference with Adviser Sartaj Aziz.

He further said that Bahrain is also looking forward for the next months which will be very important to further the scope of bilateral relations from defence to security, economic corridors and political consultations together.

To another query, he said that the investment and commercial relationship between Bahrain and Pakistan had long been established, but now it is experiencing a fresh surge.

He said the next month Business Opportunity Conference in Islamabad will be participated by delegations from Bahrain led by minister for commerce & tourism as well as delegation from economic development ministry and a delegation of chamber of commerce, which would be an important visit to further boost Bahraini investment in Pakistan.

He said that he has expressed keenness in the presentation given to his delegation by Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal on CPEC. "It was very powerful presentation which showed us how important this [CPEC] project is and how this is a turning point that would open up relations in Asia Pacific and beyond," he said.

He said that Bahraini delegations in their next month visit to Pakistan will hold more talks on the CPEC projects to explore opportunities along the corridors and the special economic zones. "I am very optimistic about the future cooperation between the two countries related to the CPEC project," he added.

About the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and the GCC, he said that the agreement is in the pipeline, adding, "We would look forward to push it up to the success and this would be part of the agenda of the next GCC meeting in March."

About the issue of Kashmir, he said that the lasting peace in the region is not possible without the resolution of Kashmir dispute, adding Bahrain would be happy to extend every possible support in amicable resolution of the longstanding issue between Pakistan and India.

Yet to another question on Indian atrocities in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir, he said that Bahrains position is "very clear" on all issues of such nature be it Kashmir or any other part of the world. "Killing innocent people is something that cannot be condoned even in its own way within the country against own population. So, we do want a resolution of this dispute but I would not take a position like a local [Pakistani] authority," he added.

He said that the two sides signed two MoUs on Monday on cooperation in agriculture and diplomatic service training, adding a number of other MoUs are also in the pipeline.

He said there should be frequent interaction between Pakistan and Bahrain to forge collaboration in different fields. He said the two sides have good cooperation in defence, economy and political consultations. The minister said besides discussing further mutual collaboration, they also discussed Pakistan-GCC cooperation.

Sartaj Aziz in his remarks said that the CPEC has immense potential to take the region to a new level of development and prosperity. "We would welcome our Bahraini brothers to benefit from our expertise in countering terrorism and the CPEC project," he added.

Talking about the business and investment opportunity in Pakistan, he said that Pakistan is committed to offering a secure and enabling environment to investors in all sectors of the economy, adding there are ample opportunities for investors with 100 percent equity or joint ventures in various fields.

"The success of our investment policy is amply demonstrated by the fact that over 1,000 multinational companies are currently successfully operating in Pakistan in various sectors of the economy," he said, adding the latest investments being made by China are a testimony to the confidence that investors enjoy in Pakistan.

"On behalf of the government of Pakistan I can assure you of an investment-friendly regime that offers lucrative financial incentives and conducive business environment in the dedicated Special Economic Zones," he said, inviting the Bahraini investors to invest in Pakistan. He said that there will be very profitable investment opportunities for Bahraini investors in the industrial parks being established under the CPEC.

"I am also confident that besides economic and investment interactions, both our countries can benefit tremendously from youth, cultural intellectual and artisan exchanges," he expressed the hope.

Aziz said that Pakistan greatly values its longstanding relations with the brotherly country of Bahrain. In order to institutionalise bilateral cooperation, he said Pakistan-Bahrain Joint Economic Committee (at the level of senior officials) was established in 1983.

However, he added that it was felt that a more focused and enhanced effort was required to translate the gains of discussions on various threads into beneficial projects and outcomes. He hoped that the up-gradation of the forum as Joint Ministerial Commission [JMC] would provide the required thrust to take the bilateral cooperation to the next level. He further hoped that both sides will pay special attention to consultative mechanism that will ensure effective implementation of JMC's decisions.

He said that Pakistan and Bahrain share several common objectives and have similarity of views on many international issues related to peace, security, regional developments, terrorism, extremism, regional security and non-proliferation, and also support each other in multilateral fora like the UN, OIC and WTO.

These commonalities provide a sound foundation to build robust and dynamic relations for the mutual benefit of the people of both countries, he added.

Referring to the challenges being faced to the Muslim world, he said that the Muslim Ummah is faced with daunting challenges of terrorism, extremism and sectarianism which have resulted in a serious security and economic crisis.

In this rapidly changing geo-strategic environment, he stated that there is a strong need that Pakistan and Bahrain strengthen mutual cooperation in the fields of defence and security.

He stated that establishment of a structured mechanism like Pakistan-GCC strategic forum would provide opportunity for regular consultations and cooperation in various fields, particularly close coordination in intelligence-sharing and counterterrorism, war on drugs, economic and trade sectors and other areas of mutual interest.

He said that Pakistan has been one of the first countries to bear the brunt of scourge of terrorism, adding, "Today we have achieved relative stability by decisively defeating the terrorist threat in our country."