ISLAMABAD
\nChina-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a manifestation of economic globalization as it is promoting new growth prospects through free flow of capital, labour, and services.
\nThe CPEC\u2019s spill-over effect from South Asia to Central Asia, Middle East and Europe gives boost to a new wave of globalization. An ambitious initiative has been undertaken for regional economic integration and prosperity. The people of Pakistan feel secure with this investment because China has a long history of reliable relations with Pakistan.
\nDr Liaqat Ali Shah, Executive Director and Head of Policy Division at CPEC Authority, said while talking to WealthPK that by broadening its economic relationship with other projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Pakistan will secure its benefits from increased integration and improved trade routes and railways through CPEC.
\nDr Liaqat said Pakistan has focused mainly on seven areas for expansion of CPEC including industrial development, trade and market access, agriculture modernization, blue economy, regional connectivity, Gwadar City, and poverty alleviation. He said all of the western alignment\u2019s routes pass through rural regions with high poverty rates, scarce employment, and lack of industrial growth and infrastructure.
\n\u201cThese areas would determine CPEC\u2019s economic direction in the coming years. The outcome of these projects will bridge the gap between economic development and higher development, and will bring prosperity to these areas,\u201d he said.
\nThe official said the special economic zones (SEZs) under CPEC would offer Pakistani entrepreneurs and business communities a wider range of business opportunities. He said trade volume has a direct impact on Pakistan\u2019s current account deficit, and trade history shows that the country remained helpless in the balance of payment crisis due to a weak macroeconomic framework.
\n\u201cExport sector works as an engine of growth of globalization in the present-day world. However, improving Pakistan\u2019s exports will only be possible if traditional and conventional manufacturing processes are given value addition,\u201d he suggested.
\nTalking about Afghan transit trade, Adnan Khan, Socio-Economic Development Specialist at CPEC, told WealthPK that Pakistan processes a total 700,000 tonnes of cargo for Afghanistan, including 600,000 tonnes at Karachi Port and Port Qasim, and the remaining 100,000 tonnes at Gwadar Port.
\nFederal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said in a statement that CPEC is specifically beneficial for economic security of Pakistan at a crucial time when the economy was almost stagnant, international sports events were cancelled due to security concerns, foreign direct investment (FDI) was weak, and manufacturing industry was performing slowly.<\/p>\n
He said that due to congestion at Karachi Port and Port Qasim, a major part of cargo is diverted towards Iran for processing. \u201cWith the completion of Gwadar Port, Pakistan will no longer rely on Iran for its goods processing,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cDespite these challenges, Islamabad and Beijing developed strong ties, which is reflected in the CPEC,\u201d he stated.
\nThe backlash of globalization and increasing economic integration through CPEC signifies that CPEC can work as a promoter of trade relations, market expansion to different regions, and resultantly socio-economic uplift of Pakistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a manifestation of economic globalization as it is promoting new growth prospects through free flow of capital, labour, and services. The CPEC\u2019s spill-over effect from South Asia to Central Asia, Middle East and Europe gives boost to a new wave of globalization. An ambitious initiative has been undertaken for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-282365","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n