‘CPEC Consortium of Business Schools’ launched

Islamabad: The CPEC Consortium of Business Schools would prove to be another step forward towards successful execution of CPEC, said Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday.

He was speaking at a two-day conference organised by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) in connection with the launch of ‘CPEC Consortium of Business Schools’ at the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad. The conference aimed at setting the course of academic collaboration between the two countries. Ahsan Iqbal was the chief guest at the closing ceremony. Du Yubo, President, China Association of Higher Education (CAHE), Dr. Arshad Ali, Executive Director HEC, Lt. Gen. (R) Muhammad Asghar, Consultant (CPEC) were also present on the occasion.

The conference was attended by representatives of nine top-ranking Chinese universities, including seven members of the C9 League, an alliance of nine elite universities in mainland China, besides leadership of partner universities from Pakistan.

“China Pakistan Economic Corridor is start of a new era in the region,” said Ahsan Iqbal, adding that almost $36 billion of the CPEC investment has been allocated for energy projects in Pakistan. He said that CPEC also encompasses mega infrastructure projects like Gwadar Port, and will help in structural transformation of Pakistan’s economy.

Linking development of any country to political stability, social security, and integrated policies, the Minister said China is a role model for Pakistan to make economic progress. “Economic miracle is no rocket science, it is a common sense that we need to learn from China,” he underlined. He stressed the need for developing new capabilities to become competitive in the world. The Minister elaborated that business schools will have a very vital role in promoting business-to-business relations between Pakistan and China. He said the platform of this Consortium will be very useful for this purpose.

Describing the significance of Consortium, DU Yubo said scholars from nine leading Chinese universities jointly with representatives of 10 Pakistani institutions will pave the way for extensive collaboration between Pakistan and China. He said that Pakistan and China need to devise a strong mechanism of communication. He assured that CAHE will take all possible steps for effective coordination.

In his remarks, Dr. Arshad Ali said incorporating human resource development in CPEC is a big initiative for ensuring success of all the development projects. He hoped that the Consortium will set a ground for enhanced academic collaboration. The Executive Director appreciated the Government, CAHE and other stakeholders for their support to materialise the idea of forming a Consortium to bring business school leaders on a single platform.

Earlier, Lt. Gen. (R) Muhammad Asghar announced a joint declaration adopted in the conference. He revealed that seven areas are being focused under the long-term plan devised to integrate economies of the two countries under CPEC.

These areas, he said, include connectivity, energy, industries and industrial parks, agriculture and food security, development of coastal region and marine resources, improvement in livelihood of people, and financial cooperation and border management.

CPEC Consortium of Business Schools of the two countries will focus on issues of economics and management. The business schools will be assigned projects to assist the two governments in the development and operation of CPEC.

Chinese institutions in the Consortium include Fudan University, Shanghai; Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong; Nanjing University, Nanjing; Peking University, Beijing; Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai; Tsinghua University, Beijing; University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei; and Zhejiang University, Hangzhou have shown their willingness to join the consortium as founding members. While from Pakistan the institutions include Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), Quetta; COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad; Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi; Institute of Management Sciences (IMS), Peshawar; Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Lahore; National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad; Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), Islamabad; and University of the Punjab, Lahore.