ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has said that launc
h of China-
Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has injected a new energy into
Pakistan’s national development.
“In the future, the corridor will receive wide support from all sectors of
Pakistani society. The construction of the corridor continues to advance,” he said in an exclusive interview with a Chinese language newspaper Guangming Daily published on Monday.
Imran Khan affirmed his strong support to the CPEC for
Pakistan’s economic and social development. “With pragmatic coope
ration and joint efforts of the people of
Pakistan and China, the corridor project has brought about many positive changes to multiple areas of
Pakistan’s economy and society for last five years. The changes prove that the corridor has a positive effect on the development of
Pakistan. I believe that the corridor construction in the medium and long term will be firmly guaranteed and will continue to be implemented,” he added.
“Especially in the field of employment, the corridor construction has played an irreplaceable role,” Imran said. “A large number of
Pakistani educated youth are directly involved in the construction and ope
ration of various projects under the corridor framework. The development projects have brought a lot of valuable employment opportunities to the people of
Pakistan,” he added.
Imran said that the PTI has long been concerned and committed to
solving the employment
issue of the people of
Pakistan. He hoped the CPEC will provide required resources and platforms in this regard.
He said the corridor has also helped
Pakistan improve country’s investment and business environment. “The corridor has created an ideal platform and opportunity for
Pakistan to attract foreign investment. At present, China is
Pakistan’s largest investor and has injected inexhaustible momentum into
Pakistan’s economic development. In future, more and more countries from within and outside the region will be eager to invest and do business in
Pakistan.
Pakistan is expected to become a transshipment hub and interconnection center in the region,” he said.
Imran Khan said
Pakistan has a unique geographical advantage in the geopolitical position, and the large population size also provides a rich labor reserve for the country’s development. “
Pakistan will embark on a path of sustainable development, and the pragmatic coope
ration between two countries in the areas of clean energy and green agriculture will boost this process,” he said.
Imran Khan said that industrial coope
ration is the most important part of the medium- and long-term planning of the CPEC. The construction of various industrial parks in
Pakistan and China will become the most promising areas in the future, he believed.
Imran believed that on the basis of the historical friendship between
Pakistan and China, the future coope
ration between the two countries will be stable and far-reaching, and
Pakistan’s ‘golden opportunity period’ will continue.
Published in Daily Times, July 24th 2018.