Senior Vice President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Shaikh Khalid Tawab stressed on the need that local entrepreneurs should also be provided a level playing field with the same incentives and concession as available to the Chinese investors and traders under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Hailing the arrival of first Chinese trade convoys carrying goods being exported to the Middle East and African Countries through Gwadar port under the CPEC, he urged the business community of Pakistan to come forward and benefit from the emerging opportunities.
He also appreciated the efforts of Prime Minister for taking significant interest in the completion and activation of Gwadar port and monitoring and implementation of CPEC project well in time. He said that Pakistan and China had successfully established sea and road links with the deep seaport Gwadar and expected that the trading activity on the CPEC and Gwadar Port would be flourished more in the coming months and would give the message to the world that Pakistan was safe country for all economic, trade and other activities. He indicated that the opening of CPEC and operationalizing Gwadar Port would attract foreign direct investment.
"There is no doubt that this is a mega project which will benefit the whole region of Asia and bring prosperity and development in the region, he said, adding that Pakistan was now an emerging economy and under CPEC; the Central Asian countries would get a shortest access to sea via Gwadar Port which was a unique opportunity for us as well to tap these markets for accelerating bilateral trade with these countries. He indicated that the successful implementation of CPEC projects would be a game-changer for the people of Pakistan in terms of new economic opportunities leading to higher incomes and significant improvements in the living standards.