Spotlight: Pakistan hails CPEC as fate changer, vital in driving economic growth

Pakistan has hailed the China- Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as a fate changer, saying it is vital in helping drive its economic growth.

The CPEC is a 3,000-kilometer network of roads, railways and pipelines to transport oil and gas from southern Pakistan's Gwadar Port to kashgar city, northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Proposed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during his visit to Pakistan in May 2013, the CPEC will act as a bridge for the new Maritime Silk Route that envisages linking 3 billion people in Asia, Africa and Europe.

Pakistan's Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Asif Ali Khan Durrani told Khaleej Times in an interview in March 2015 that the CPEC will be a game changer and its major beneficiaries will include his country, China and the Gulf nations.

"Definitely, the direct beneficiary would be Pakistan because of the transit facilities Pakistan is going to offer. At the same time, the service, infrastructure and industrial sectors are going to get a boost in Pakistan. Therefore, the CPEC is considered economically vital to Pakistan in helping it driving economic growth."

"Apart from boost to bilateral trade between Pakistan and China, this will also enhance Pakistan's capacity to produce more and that extra surplus is going to be exported that will fetch more markets," the ambassador stressed.

He said the CPEC would also boost the economies of the Gulf states by boosting trade volume and huge savings in freight.

The Pak-China Economic Corridor Council (PCECC), an initiative by senior Pakistani Parliamentarians and politicians, was launched on April 8, 2015 in Islamabad. Speaking at the launching ceremony, Patron-in-Chief of the PCECC Abdul Malik, who is also the chief minister of Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province that owns Gwadar port, termed CPEC as a window of opportunities for Pakistan and the whole region.

On the same occasion, Pakistan's Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal described the CPEC as a "fate Changer" for Pakistan, saying it will integrate the entire region and bring an economic revolution also for the 3 billion population of the region.

He said he felt proud after signing the CPEC documents from the Pakistani side because he knew this historical project would open a gate of opportunities for all areas and the people of his country.

Ahsan Iqbal, in an earlier interview with Xinhua, said the CPEC is very important for Pakistan because his country is located at the strategic location.

Pakistan will be the beneficial of virtue because all the trade activities will take place through CPEC and it will give Pakistan an opportunity for economic revival.

"We hope this multi-billion project will solve many of the problems Pakistan is facing including slow pace of business activities and unemployment."

"With every single project coming on ground under the CPEC or the silk road, the pace of development under the project will get more and more benefits to Pakistan," the minister added.

Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain also sees the CPEC as a fate changer for his country.

Marking the 150th anniversary of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Society on May 7, 2015, the Pakistani president said the completion of the development projects would change the fate of his country.

The president called on the nation to reject elements creating hurdles in the way of these development projects.

In an interview with Xinhua in April last year, Senator Mushahid Hussain, who is also the chairman of the Pakistan Parliament's Defense Committee, said the CPEC is going to be a game changer and the pillar of Pakistan-China cooperation in the 21st century.

"This is significant because what it does entails for the people of Pakistan. Today, this corridor is a factor for national unity. It strengthen the federation of Pakistan. It is not just a road, it is the whole concept of infrastructure, ports and pipelines, roads and railways, optics fibers, industrial zones, and this will be uniting the people of Pakistan because on this issue, all the political parties, the armed forces, Parliament and public opinions agree that this project is important for national unity and prosperity of Pakistan."

"It is also important for economic security and stability and this economic corridor gives new hope to the people of Pakistan. It also shows that China want to share its prosperity with their neighbors through win-win cooperation so this is why there is a lot of interest in this project," the senator noted.

Saleem Khilji is the director of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute based in Islamabad who also spoke highly of the CPEC.

The senior research fellow said in a recent interview with Xinhua "The economic corridor is very important for Pakistan because our country is located at the strategic location, because it is a gateway to landlocked Afghanistan and central Asian states ".

The Pakistani government has showed a very serious attitude toward the project and has been keeping it as a priority. It will give Pakistan an opportunity for economic revival, he added.

A flagship project of China's Belt and Road initiative as well, the CPEC intends to revive the ancient Silk Road with a focus on infrastructure, and constitutes the strategic framework of bilateral cooperation.

Moody's Investors Service described in May this year the CPEC as "credit positive for Pakistan". Endi