- Strategic location makes Pakistan hub for regional connectivity: DPM
- Dar emphasizes seamless connectivity via road, rail, air, digital corridors.
- highlights Pakistan’s readiness to strengthen regional value chains
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday emphasized the importance of regional connectivity for stability, economic growth and collective progress.
Addressing the Regional Transport Ministers’ International Conference in Islamabad on Thursday, he said Pakistan is ready to coordinate transport plans, improve cross-border facilitation, mobilize joint investment and strengthen regional value chains, reported Radio Pakistan.
He mentioned that Pakistan’s strategic location connecting South Asia with Central Asia, Middle East and China makes it a natural hub for regional relations.
Emphasizing that the region needs to build seamless connectivity through road, rail, air, maritime and energy and digital corridors, making geography an opportunity, the DPM said CPEC is now widely recognized as a catalyst for energy infrastructure development, transport connectivity and improved trade across the entire South and Central Asia.
Dar further noted that the initiative embodies the country’s commitment to building partnerships that bring tangible benefits not only to Pakistan and China but to the entire region.
He said that Pakistan’s highways and expressways form the backbone of regional and national connectivity connecting key border crossings to the ports of Karachi and Gwadar.
Referring to key connectivity initiatives, the Deputy Prime Minister said the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan Railway Framework Agreement is a landmark initiative to open new trade routes. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to invest in regional energy projects.
Addressing the conference, Communications Minister Abdul Aleem Khan emphasized the need for practical and actionable measures to strengthen transport links, facilitate trade and deepen regional integration.
Noting that transport and connectivity are pillars of economic growth, the minister said efficient transport systems are a necessity for competitiveness, resilience and sustainability.
Khan noted that the conference provides an opportunity to share perspectives and create partnerships to strengthen transportation networks and bring our communities closer together.
