LAHORE: Pakistan-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) has urged the government to take a lead in developing “Digital Silk Road” for having maximum benefits out of the economic corridor to be constructed by China in the Asia-Pacific region, Nazir Hussain, President PCJCCI stated this during a think tank session held at PCJCCI Secretariat recently.

He said the roads and railways are easy enough to build, but it is hard to cultivate mental harmony among people that holds more importance in regional connectivity. Information has become a core resource and is crucial to international cooperation.

“The next leap for regional connectivity is to create Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway,” he said.

Infrastructure development is progressing steadily for the China proposed Belt and Road Initiative, but parallel with a communication and infrastructure network connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa, there is dire need of breaking the barriers of information among the connecting nations, he added.

Brig Mansoor Saeed Sheikh (Retd), Senior Vice President PCJCCI said that people-to-people bond provides the public support for implementing the strategic initiatives. We should carry forward the spirit of friendly cooperation of the Silk Road by promoting extensive cultural and academic exchanges, personnel exchanges and cooperation among media, youth and volunteers so as to win public support for deepening bilateral and multilateral harmony, he mentioned.

He further added that we should expand the scope and scale of bilateral currency swap and settlement with other countries along the belt and road apart from opening and develop the bond market in Asia and making joint efforts to establish the joint financial institutions like Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and BRICS New Development Bank, which will pave way for carrying out multilateral financial cooperation in the form of syndicated loans and bank credits in the region through China-ASEAN Interbank Association and SCO Interbank Association.

Zafar Iqbal, Vice President PCJCCI proposed to develop a concrete agenda to initiate an effective communication process among the states being connected through Pak-China economic belt as well as the Silk Road. The agenda should especially include friendly exchanges of the respective legislative bodies and political parties.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024