Minister of Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has expressed confidence that the next 10 years of CPEC phase-II will have a transformative impact on human life.
Briefing of media persons in Beijing after the 14th meeting of Pakistan-China Joint Coordination Committee, he said that CPEC phase-II, which has been formally launched, will create employment opportunities and lead to structural changes in Pakistan’s economy and move it against becoming a more advanced economy.
He was convinced that the results of the joint coordination committee meeting would further speed up cooperation between Pakistan and China.
Iqbal said the second phase of CPEC is focusing on the modernization of Pakistan’s agriculture, expansion of industrial cooperation and the establishment of technology portraits. He said it will also focus on elaborating on people-to-people contacts.
Read: Pakistan, China to exit Roadmap for CPEC 2.0 at the JCC meeting: Ahsan Iqbal
He mentioned that CPEC-phase-II imagines five corridors: the growth corridor, livelihood corridor, innovation corridor, green corridor and opening/regional connection corridor.
He said that the roadmap set for the second phase of CPEC is human-centered and will promote inclusive development.
Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan will develop a strong capacity in the export sector’s performance with the Chinese experience. He said both sides have discussed creating a CPEC Future Skills program in it, robotics, fintech and biotechnology, adding that climate-smart agricultural projects will be introduced to sustainable development.
He said the two countries agree to immediately start working on Karakoram Highway Phase-II adaptation. We will also work together on a mineral corridor in Balochistan to connect Gwadar with minerals in the north of Balochistan. This, he emphasized, will make Gwadar Port commercially very attractive.
By ensuring full security for Chinese projects and workers in Pakistan, the Minister of Planning said that Pakistan-China-friendship is unmatched and rooted in mutual trust. He said that Pakistan and China together will foil the design of foreign sponsored elements that want to interfere with progress and cooperation between the two countries.
