ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has reportedly imposed a ban on announcements regarding inclusion of third party in China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects, saying both Pakistan and China have already decided to refrain from making public announcements in this regard, well-informed sources told Business Recorder.

This has been conveyed by the Ministry of Foreign Ministry in a letter to different Ministries and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) after some statements appeared in which third party investors were invited to invest in CPEC projects.

According to the letter, written by Faraz Zaidi, Director General (China) Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in recent days, there have been several instances involving mention of third-party inclusion in CPEC, clarifying that the CPEC Joint Cooperation Committee (JWG) has mandated the Joint Working Group on International Cooperation and Coordination (JWG-ICC) with all matters related to prospective third parties’ inclusion in CPEC.

“As per the policy, consensus reached by both Pakistan and China at the 1st 2nd JWG meetings, pronouncements on third-party participation are to be made only after mutual consultation after consensus,” he added.

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintains that it was further decided that both parties (China and Pakistan) would refrain from unilateral release of information.

In view of the foregoing, Ministry of Foreign Affairs has requested that public announcements and formal outreach to prospective third parties may be avoided. Initiatives for third-party participation in the CPEC be referred to Foreign Ministry’s clearance from the political point of view.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022