Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Monday said China's One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative would help overcome threats of terrorism, refugee movements, food and water security in the region. "I am confident that with OBOR in place, we would be able to turn the tide of these threats," the Prime Minister said in his statement at the first session of Leader's Roundtable, themed 'Policy Synergy for Closer Partnership' at the Belt and Road Forum here at the International Conference Centre at Yanqi Lake.
The Prime Minister said the new OBOR family and the wider international community should co-ordinate and synergise their initiatives to create and enhance the space for co-operation. He stressed dialogue and communication with nations outside the belt-road routes as necessary to dispel apprehensions. Nawaz said Pakistan strongly favours co-operation and synergetic partnerships across regions for socioeconomic development and human prosperity.
He emphasised on policy synergy at the level of international bodies and mentioned that several national planning bodies, the United Nations, international conferences and regional organisations had developed plans and initiatives on global issues and established partnerships with OBOR. Most importantly, he said the Bretton Woods institutions and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank should deepen their co-operation in knowledge-sharing, development financing and country-level co-ordination through cohesive institutional interaction.
The Prime Minister said speaking at the Leaders' Roundtable on Policy Synergy was an opportunity to explore ways to enhance collaboration under the banner of the "One Belt-One Road" initiative, deepen co-operation, and review the progress we have made so far.
He described it as an important factor as the "very nature of OBOR requires synergetic endeavour, constant appraisal, and closely co-ordinated policies." The Prime Minister said the world's economy was showing the first signs of improvement and there were credible forecasts that global trade and commerce would strengthen. However, he pointed that it was not known how long this recovery would last because of its many vulnerabilities.
The Prime Minister said the two main trends competing in the global economy were advocacy for protectionism; and an increasing call for greater economic collaboration for sustainable development. He said the initiative was firmly supported by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund. UN Bodies and regional organisations have embraced it, as multiple projects under the "One Belt-One Road" have complementarity.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor banner, Pakistan had made phenomenal progress in a short span of time through active participation in the areas of infrastructure, energy, industrial zones and telecommunications.
The Prime Minister called for addressing four areas that require more focus. He called for reviewing overall progress, as all stand to benefit from early harvest projects. He stressed more synergy in development strategies both at the regional and international levels. The Prime Minister stressed that this initiative must continue to deliver "win-win" outcomes, adding that "all should win. All should succeed."
He also called for building on the solid foundations of OBOR to make it a living, growing and organic partnership. "We applaud China for taking this historic initiative, which now has the complete ownership of all participating countries," he said. Nawaz said in Pakistan, his government was focusing on synergy at three levels. These included harmonising national development plans with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, closely co-ordinating with China for planning and implementation of CPEC, and finally liaising with International Financial Institutions for policy alignment. He said this strategy requires constant refinement.
The Prime Minister said the Forum should have at least three outcomes in order to achieve the goal of policy synergy. These include expanding consensus for OBOR, enhance co-operation in development and implementation, and finally the need to prepare a blueprint and roadmap for long-term co-operation, he added The Prime Minister said after seeing the momentum of discussions in the last two days, he was confident that they all were on course for initiating an historic partnership of peoples across the geographical, national and regional frontiers.
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