Islamabad, Oct 31: Speakers Advocate for Extension of CPEC into Afghanistan. At a conference held here on Thursday, speakers recommended that Pakistan prioritize moving closer to expanding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan.
All of the presenters agreed that encouraging economic integration with neighbors and the surrounding area was essential to Pakistan’s economic recovery, expansion, and advancement. According to a press release, they agreed that CPEC, a defining feature of China’s Built and Road Initiative (BRI), should be utilized as a vital tool to improve regional energy, infrastructure, and trade/transit connections.
All of the speakers agreed that the first step in accomplishing this goal has to be the expansion of CPEC to Afghanistan. Some of the speakers did, however, also emphasize the necessity of Pakistan making audacious attempts to remove the obstacles standing in the way of CPEC’s expansion to Afghanistan as a top priority.
According to former Ambassador Asif Durrani, the idea that CPEC was stagnating was unfounded; with significant Chinese investments, CPEC has advanced astronomically over the past ten years.
He believed that a number of obstacles needed to be removed before CPEC could be extended to Afghanistan, adding that “the biggest one is that the Taliban have not been able to develop a normalized interaction with the world since taking over Afghanistan due to their unacceptable stance on some of the issues.”
He explained that India still views the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and its expansion into Afghanistan as a danger to its own interests. Durrani underlined that encouraging economic contact, especially the development of CPEC, required peace in Afghanistan and the surrounding area.
Haroon Sharif, the former minister of investment, emphasized that connection is not in and of itself a goal. In reality, it ought to result in prosperity and financial gains for the populace. According to him, 40 percent of global connectivity projects fail because this important issue is not taken into account.
With China and India accounting for 60% of global growth, Haroon Sharif emphasized that in a region where Pakistan’s market is the largest outside of these two countries, “Connectivity with China and India is essential if we wish to join the global network.”
According to former Afghan Wolesi Jirga deputy speaker Mirwais Yasini, who shared an Afghan viewpoint, security is crucial for economic endeavors. He admitted that CPEC will be essential to creating jobs and averting regional chaos for a landlocked nation like Afghanistan.
He hinted that Afghanistan’s mineral resources, including lithium mining, would be essential for battery manufacturing, thereby advancing technology and industry.
In addition to India’s desire to oppose both China and Pakistan, General (retd) Nasir Janjua emphasized the US and Western hostility to China.The attendees understood the value of these gatherings to candidly address the key facets of Pakistan’s policy concerning neighbors and regional trade in order to raise awareness and win over young people.
