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Tuesday March 19, 2024

‘Pakistan faces challenges in building economic corridor with China’

By our correspondents
June 29, 2017

DALIAN: Pakistan faces some challenges in steering an ambitious plan to build an economic corridor with China despite the economic benefits for the country, planning minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Wednesday.

China has promised $57 billion in investment in projects along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, part of its ambitious Belt and Road plan, linking China with the Middle East and Europe.

Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road project in 2013, but it is still short on specifics.

"There are a number of challenges, which have to be addressed," Iqbal, the Islamabad lead on the project, told the World Economic Forum in the northeastern city of Dalian.

"There are actually many gaps that we have to correctly address. First and foremost is the coordination gap," he added. The minister said he had chaired many ministerial meetings over the last two years to push through the red-tape and coordinate policies among government ministries.

"There are also challenges in terms of different regions," he said, adding that provinces are competing for greater opportunities in the project. The government has built a mechanism to coordinate with "internal and external stakeholders" in the scheme, he said.