Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Sunday departed for Beijing to attend the 14th Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) meeting on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), scheduled for September 26.<\/p>\n
Before leaving for China, he in a statement underlined the strategic significance of the upcoming meeting and its role in shaping the future of Pakistan-China economic cooperation.<\/p>\n
\u201cChina has always stood by Pakistan in every difficult time. It is our trusted friend, and together, we will continue working towards mutual prosperity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Ahsan Iqbal said the 14th JCC meeting would serve as a platform to operationalize the vision for CPEC Phase II, focusing on industrial collaboration, technological innovation, and sustainable development.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will transform the action plan prepared during the Prime Minister\u2019s recent visit to China for 2025-2029 into a concrete roadmap,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The minister said Pakistan was on a new journey towards economic development and national prosperity, adding that the country\u2019s economic indicators have shown marked improvement in recent months.<\/p>\n
Recalling the achievements of CPEC Phase I, the minister said Pakistan focused on foundational infrastructure, energy and connectivity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith around $33 billion in Chinese investment, we completed major power and infrastructure projects,\u201d he said, particularly mentioning the Sahiwal Power Plant, Port Qasim Power Plant, Hubco Coal Power Plant, Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park, Bahawalpur (300 MW) and the Thar Coal Project.<\/p>\n
By laying out a network of highways and motorways, he said, the government connected all regions of the country, paving the way for national integration and mobility.<\/p>\n
Highlighting Gwadar\u2019s transformation, Ahsan Iqbal said the port has placed Balochistan on the path to development. \u201cProjects like port upgradation, the Free Zone, the Gwadar International Airport, water supply schemes, a modern hospital, and the East Bay Expressway are turning Gwadar into a regional trade hub.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, he lamented the slowdown of CPEC following political changes in 2018. \u201cUnfortunately, CPEC progress was rolled back post-2018 due to political instability,\u201d the minister said but expressed confidence in regaining momentum through the next phase.<\/p>\n
Describing CPEC 2.0 as a new chapter, he said business-to-business collaboration, technological advancement, agricultural transformation, green energy, and the development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) were included in its priorities.<\/p>\n
He also noted that during the PM\u2019s recent visit to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, both countries agreed to align CPEC Phase II with Pakistan\u2019s 5Es development framework under the \u201cUraan Pakistan\u201d initiative. The five corridors under the CPEC-II vision focus on growth, livelihoods, innovation, green economy, and regional development, he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis phase will create employment, drive prosperity, and lay the foundation for an export-led economy,\u201d Ahsan Iqbal said.
\nHe said while China imports goods worth $2 trillion annually, Pakistan\u2019s share was only $3 billion. \u201cThere\u2019s a massive opportunity to boost exports and integrate into global value chains through CPEC,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Calling it a guarantee for a brighter future, the minister expressed a strong commitment, saying, \u201cWe are fully prepared for the successful execution of CPEC 2.0. This phase will ensure prosperity for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Sunday departed for Beijing to attend the 14th Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) meeting on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), scheduled for September 26. Before leaving for China, he in a statement underlined the strategic significance of the upcoming meeting and its role in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":71633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87083"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87083\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87094,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87083\/revisions\/87094"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}