PM Khan says peace required to unleash China’s Belt and Road potential

Prime Minister Imran Khan has urged Asian countries to resolve their disputes in order to unleash the potential of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

“Today Asia and the world are at an important juncture,” said PM Khan while virtually speaking at the Conference on Future of Asia under the theme Shaping the Post-Covid Era: Asia's Role in the Global Recovery on Friday.

“Our first priority at present is to confront and conquer the COVID19 virus pandemic. This virus has created the worst global health, economic and social crisis in the past hundred years. Unless fully contained it could create total chaos and threaten peace in Asia and elsewhere in the world,” the prime minister stated.

The Prime Minister said the COVID pandemic badly damaged the poor and developing countries but we should keep our economies open for quick recovery. “It is essential to provide the low-income countries and others in financial distress with fiscal space and liquidity to respond to the impact of the pandemic and revive their economic growth and preserve social stability,” he said.

“To ensure rapid recovery we in Asia and elsewhere must keep economies open, revive disrupted supply chains and resist protection temptation,” said the prime minister.

PM said that he proposed a five-point agenda for debt relief, the Special Drawing Rights and reallocation, larger concessional finance, fulfillment of climate finance commitments, and an end to illicit financial flows from developing countries.

“I am gratified that consensus is evolving on these essential actions already. I welcome the extension of G20's debt suspension initiative, the agreement to create $650 billion in new SDRs, to expand International Development Association funding, and to expand emergency support programme for multilateral development banks. The recommendation of the FACTII panel on illicit financial flows must be implemented,” he said.

“Resilient and dynamic economic growth particularly in Asia depends significantly upon greater integration and physical connectivity,” he said. The prime minister was of the view that China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) provides an important pathway to such regional integration across the Asia Pacific region and beyond.

“The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative. It has generated economic activity, employment and will enhance bilateral and regional trade," Khan said.

He said that Pakistan has invited all friendly countries to invest in the several economic industrial zones being established under the CPEC umbrella. “Pakistan looks towards serving as a geo-economic hub connecting the economies of Central Asia, South Asia, West Asia, and beyond,” he said.

Prime Minister Imran Khan says the countries of Asia Pacific should settle their disputes for peace, security, and economic prosperity in the region. “These sub-regions are the areas which possess the greatest potential for dynamic new growth to Asia. This potential could not be fully unleashed if we do not resolve the outstanding conflicts and disputes in the region,” he said.

He urged the international community to take action against atrocities being committed by occupation forces in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine.

Imran Khan said India will have to stop human rights violations in occupied territory and should rescind the illegal actions taken on August 5, 2019, to resume dialogue. He said the Kashmir dispute can be resolved by the implementation of the UN resolutions.