Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal said on Tuesday that political stability and continuity of policy were necessary for local as well as foreign investments and economic development of the country. The Minister said this while addressing a seminar on 'Pakistan China Iron Brothers' organised by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting at Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation in Islamabad.
"Gwadar Port, infrastructure and special economic zones would enhance China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The CPEC project is a new milestone in 65 years of Sino-Pakistan relations," he said. He said this project brought Pak-China relations from geo-strategic orbit to geo-economics orbit - the element which was ignored in the past. He said CPEC was not a bilateral project but three billion people of the region would accrue benefits from it. He said over the last three years, China had become the leading country in terms of foreign direct investment in Pakistan.
The Minister said there was also need of reforms in the departments and up-gradation of their structure and new technology for economic development in the country. While addressing the seminar, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid said CPEC was the project of peace and economic development of that region.
He said the convoys that would ply a trade on the corridor project would not conquer other countries but help provide basic amenities of life to the people. Pervaiz Rashid said the construction of Gwadar Port and road infrastructure in the region would bring the people closer to each other. He said with the development of Gwadar, Pakistan also welcomed the establishment of other ports in the region. He said those mega projects would steer the region out of poverty and backwardness and bring prosperity in the lives of the people.
Giving a brief outlook of Pakistan-China historic relations, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary said the two sides had developed a robust and flexible roadmap for multifaceted cooperation over the last few years. He said the leadership of both countries over the last three years made frantic efforts to take the relationship to new heights. He said CPEC project was a clear manifestation of growing relations between the two countries. Bilateral trade, people-to-people contacts and defense cooperation between the two countries increased during the last three years, he added.
On this occasion, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Sun Weidong said relations between the two countries had strengthened over the past 65 years. He said both the countries take that relationship as priority of the diplomacy. "We regard each other as equal partners and reliable friends. Both the countries respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The two countries have been always extended helping hand to each other in testing times and maintained close collaboration on important regional and international issues to promote peace and prosperity in the world," he said.