Work on CPEC remained stalled under PTI govt: Ahsan Iqbal

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiative Prof Ahsan Iqbal revealed on Friday here that work on CPEC during four years of PTI government remained stalled.

He said that Imran Khan government did not build a single project in Free Economic Zones (FEZ) in these years.

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif immediately on coming to power in April this year made it a point that work on CPEC would resume at fastest pace. We have taken it as a noble duty on ourselves to complete China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects and make it a game-changer for not only Pakistan but the entire region.

The minister, who is undertaking an important visit to China next month, was addressing award-giving ceremony for “Outstanding Pakistani Staff of CPEC Projects” held at Chinese Embassy complex.

Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong also addressed the ceremony.

The minister reminded that world had been witnessing changes in bilateral ties with varying trends in the world. The ties between Pakistan and China have defied all such conventional norms and definitions of diplomacy be it Cold War Era, Post-Cold War, 9/11 or any other period.

Felicitating award recipients, the minister termed them real heroes of CPEC making the dream of a prosperous, peaceful and progressing Pakistan possible. “You are our real heroes as through you the people of Pakistan are enjoying the fruit of development and dividends of economic cooperation”, he said while paying tribute to their services.

He called Chinese working on different projects as super heroes. Prof Ahsan Iqbal said there was no example like Pakistan-China friendship in the history of the bilateral relations and a number of terms like ‘iron brothers’ ‘all weather friendship’ and ‘higher than Himalaya and deeper than the ocean’, sweeter than honey” were coined to describe and explain Pakistan-China friendship.

While describing the Chinese economic contribution, Prof Ahsan Iqbal said that Pakistan had become the first country with highest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by China in a short period of three years since the launch of the CPEC in 2015. Out of several projects with investment of a total $46 billion, projects worth $29 billion were actualised in the first three years, he said. The credit for translating the Pakistan-China political, social and historical relations into economic cooperation goes to the visionary leadership of President Xi Jinping and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, he said.

The CPEC, Ahsan Iqbal said, proved a source of tremendous support to Pakistan in diverse sectors such as industry, agriculture, energy, infrastructure, port and highways development and social economic projects. In short it guaranteed a wholesome development for the country generating hundreds and thousands of jobs and opportunities for the youth. In fact, it was a revolution in connectivity, said Ahsan Iqbal, adding, number of free economic zones were identified under the CPEC and it was estimated billions of dollars’ revenue would be generated through those FEZs.

Ambassador Rong Zong congratulated the recipient of the awards and said the year 2022 witnessed the deepening of all-round cooperation between the two countries. The CPEC projects, he said, have made sound achievement against the challenge of global economic downturn and historical floods in Pakistan.

Referring to November 2 meeting between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, he said, “Our two sides are committed to making full use of the JCC of the CPEC, advance CPEC with greater efficiency, and make CPEC an exemplar of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.”

“A series of good news is coming from different sectors under the CPEC umbrella,” said Ambassador Nong Rong adding the China-aided Eastbay Expressway of Gwadar port had begun operation since June, enhancing connectivity of the port, which is now transporting two hundred thousand ton of fertilizer. The achievements of the CPEC are not possible without joint efforts of staffs from both China and Pakistan, said the ambassador.

“Among the 34 outstanding Pakistani staffs, some of you are engineers, who keep the boilers and other equipment in good condition, some of you are from administrative sector, who implement the Covid SOPs in a prudent manner, some of you are from financing sector, who help the project to attract investment. Each of you has a good story. You are not only the constructors and participants of the CPEC, but also the ‘witnesses and promoters of a brilliant history, he said.

Ambassador-Nong Rong, Deputy CEO, Thar Coal Block-1 Power Generation Company, Council Member of APCEA Ying Minghao, Deputy DG, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of Chinazzz Pan Jiang, award recipients including Shakeela Kausar, Mir Arsalan and Muhammad Hamza Khalid also addressed on the occasion and shared their experiences.