Pakistani national security advisor invites neighbors to invest in CPEC

Pakistan's national security advisor Moeed Yusuf gestures as he speaks to members of the media in Islamabad on September 15, 2021. (AFP)

• Dr. Moeed Yusuf says special economic zones under the corridor project will promote industrialization in the country
• Pakistan is already negotiating trade deals with Central Asian states in a bid to tap the region’s $90 billion export market

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national security adviser Dr. Moeed Yusuf invited neighboring states to invest in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) on Tuesday, reported the Associated Press of Pakistan, saying the project was a “game changer” and had the potential of changing the region’s economic geography.
The multibillion-dollar corridor project, which was launched in 2013 and provides a framework for greater regional integration, has mainly focused on infrastructure development and power generation ventures across Pakistan.
It is part of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that aims to link Asia, Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks to ensure sustained economic progress by increasing commerce and trade.
Pakistan has already stepped up its engagements with the Central Asian republics, hoping to tap the region’s $90 billion export market by offering its landlocked economies access to sealanes via the shortest possible route through its southwestern Gwadar port city.
Discussing the significance of the corridor plan, Yusuf said “CPEC was not merely a name for a road or railway system but a far-reaching mega project which would usher in an ‘economic revolution,’” the APP said.
“The security adviser said that special economic zones would promote industrialization in the country and help to attract more investment,” the report added.
He also maintained the China-Pakistan bilateral ties were gaining strength with each passing year.
Last month, the chairman of Pakistan’s CPEC authority Khalid Mansoor said Chinese companies were not satisfied with the performance of the country’s state institutions and their pace of work on the corridor project.
However, Pakistan’s planning minister Asad Umar denied that CPEC had slowed down and maintained the current administration had completed several projects under the China-Pakistan bilateral economic framework.
More recently, Prime Minister Imran Khan said his government would expedite work on CPEC while acknowledging it had either been halted or slowed down due to the coronavirus pandemic.