Naval Chief Admiral Amjad Khan Niazi in his address at the International Maritime Conference 2021 in Karachi on Saturday, said that that country’s Indus Deltaic region have huge oil and gas reserves.
He told the audience that a joint expedition to explore hydrocarbon resources was conducted by Pakistan Navy’s Hydrographical Department and China Geological Survey in 2019.
The survey revealed ‘highly promising’ picture of Pakistan's exclusive economic zones with presence of huge reservoirs of oil and gas in the Indus Delta region. “Third survey is expected this year, which is likely to pave the way for drilling and subsequent extraction of the hydrocarbons,” he said
“Seas have gained renewed focus owing to being huge reservoirs of food, minerals and hydrocarbons. This has resulted in what I called the trinity of abuse, exploitation and greed putting seas into unsustainable ecosystem impacting living resources, excessive generation of CO2 at land has been steadily toxifying the seas, which if not rested might make plenty of fish extinct,” that Naval Chief said.
The naval chief was of the view, that Pakistan's location makes it an important country both in geopolitics and as a potential holder of many types of living and nonliving resources in their seas. “Pakistan coastal areas are incredibly rich in biodiversity and productivity. Our Continental shelf has enormous reservoirs of magnesium, cobalt and nickel while it also contains tremendous amounts of gas hydrates,” informed Niazi.
Talking about the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he said that CPEC being the pilot project of the Belt and Road Initiative has all the markers of being a stimulant for regional economic transformation. “Linking all Central Asian nations to Gwadar and relieving China of its Malacca dilemma has rightly been dubbed as a watershed project,” he said.
Meanwhile, President Dr. Arif Alvi inhis address emphasized the need for regional peace to allow the blue economy to prosper. He said global peace rather than confrontation should be our future.
He said Pakistan whilst ensuring its defense desires to attract the world towards morality based international cooperation. The President said Pakistan is becoming a geo economic hub with the Belt and Road Initiative and China Pakistan Economic Corridor project. He said Pakistan is the shortest route for the Central Asian States and China to import and export their goods through Gwadar.
The President said security of Indian Ocean is essential for mankind in general and especially for the countries of this region. He said hegemonic designs in any way will deter international cooperation.
The President reaffirmed the government's commitment to the development of maritime sector.