A delegation of the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad on Tuesday visited the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry and held an interactive session with the private sector. Led by Brigadier Hammad, the delegation was comprised of officers hailing from 25 countries. The LCCI President Abdul Basit briefed the delegation members about the current economic scenario.
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Kalabagh Dam, regional trade, energy, women empowerment, Orange Train and bilateral trade with African region were the topics that were discussed during the meeting. The LCCI President said that CPEC is a game changer project for Pakistan and its generations. "CPEC is part of One Belt One-Road plan aimed at establishing close land and maritime links among 60 plus countries across Asia and Europe.
Its motivating force is prosperity and the partner countries are focusing on investment in our region. Once it is complete, it is estimated that the volume of intra-trade among these countries would reach dollar 2.5 trillion," he said. He said that Gwadar Port is going to play the pivotal role in development of Western region of China. The infrastructure development currently going on in Pakistan in major areas like power sector, roads and railways network etc has started the process of economic recovery, he added. "We believe that greater success cannot be achieved without full participation of the private sectors from both countries especially engaging small and medium-sized enterprises. We want our government to ensure that Pakistani companies should be given more opportunities to interact closely with Chinese companies so that there should be win-win situation for everyone", Abdul Basit said.