2nd phase of CPEC: Nine SEZs identified to focus on rapid industrialisation: Qureshi

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi Wednesday said that completion of ongoing projects of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the top most priority of the government.

Speaking at the international conference titled 'Belt and Road Initiative in the Changing Regional Dynamics,' organised by China-Pakistan Study Center (CPSC) at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) in collaboration with PowerChina, Qureshi said, "We have now entered the second phase of development of CPEC which will mainly focus on industrialization and socio-economic development."

"We have identified nine special economic zones to focus on rapid industrialization," he said, adding that these SEZs have been granted incentives so that Chinese and foreign investors can invest in these zones.

The foreign minister said that the CPEC, a flagship project of BRI, is a transformational project, adding that completion of the CPEC projects is the number one priority of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

Many energy and infrastructure projects of the CPEC have been completed which have injected dynamism into the process of the country's economic development, he said adding that these projects have also given a boost to the country's growth. In order to fast track expeditious completion of CPEC projects, he said that the government has established a CPEC authority.

The foreign minister also referred to immediate challenges being faced by region: first being the US-China competition and especially the trade-related issues; second, the US-Iran tensions, which have the potential to trigger unforeseen consequences for world economy and regional peace and security; third, the instability in Afghanistan, which, if not addressed, could continue to negatively impact efforts for durable peace and economic development in the region; and fourth, a South Asia now fated to deal with an over-reaching and Hindutva-driven India.

He asserted that the BRI has a central role to play in converting this region into the one rich in opportunities for economic growth and development. Who would appreciate this more than Pakistan, which is hosting a flagship arm of the BRI, called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, he added.

While economic and commercial win-win options are being explored under the rubric of the BRI, Qureshi emphasized that equally important would be to complement that efforts by forging strong partnerships, harmonizing policies, and close people-to- people contacts for better understanding.

"We can never over-emphasize the importance that our all-weather strategic cooperative partnership with China occupies in our foreign policy priorities," he said, adding that Pakistan fully recognizes that the increasingly demanding and inter-related security and economic challenges often go beyond the capacity of individual nation states.

The states, rich and poor, developed and developing, can only forge ahead if they cooperate. "We, in Pakistan, therefore, have extended full support to the BRI as an effective implementation mechanism for creating a more balanced, multi-polar, inclusive, and multi-lateral architecture for our region and the rest of the world," he added.

Referring to the critics of the BRI, Qureshi said: "We have seen the skepticism among certain quarters who perceive the BRI as a political and economic threat. We think it is unwise to perceive this transformational project in a zero-sum perspective."

He said that the BRI would link the nations of Eurasia like never before, and in fact, BRI has the potential to convert any potential geo-competition into a positive force for the entire world.

"Imagine the benefits for the humanity if the two leading economies of the world were to help shape a regional order that can bring regional allies and partner countries to implement a unified economic strategy for the common good of the humanity," he asserted.

Qureshi asserted that the exclusive focus of global and regional powers on the military and security dimensions of what is happening in Asia will be short-sighted. He stated that the BRI and its flagship projects like CPEC offer a ray of hope that inclusive and pluralistic solutions would make the world safer, securer, and more prosperous.

Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing commended the efforts by the government of Pakistan in implementing the CPEC. He said that Pakistani government has adopted economy-oriented foreign policy 'which is the right policy'.

DG ISSI Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry aptly sketched the changing dynamics of the region and said the new great power tussle, initiated mainly by the US, can either yield new globalism or bring the old globalism to halt altogether. He said, "BRI and CPEC can help us navigate the challenges of contemporary times."

President PowerChina, Du Chunguo elaborated that his company has completed 40 power projects in Pakistan focusing on socio-economic development of the people.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019