Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday called for renewed commitment to regional connectivity, economic integration and long-term cooperation among China, Central Asia and South Asia, stressing that \u201cgreat nations and great cultures do not rise in isolation; they flourish through exchange.\u201d
\nIn his televised address at the Tian Shan Forum on Economic Cooperation in Central Asia, being held in Urumqi (China) from December 2-3, the minister said the region, home to 3.9 billion people, was emerging as a major engine of global growth, with unmatched strategic and economic potential. \u201cThis is not a peripheral region. This is the heartland of the world\u2019s future.\u201d
\nAhsan said the shifting global economic landscape demanded collective action and a development-centered approach. \u201cEconomic strength is moving from the Atlantic to the Indo-Pacific,\u201d he observed, adding \u201cWithin our own region, China, Central Asia and South Asia are becoming a new pole of global growth.\u201d
\nHe said the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) had revived the ancient spirit of the Silk Road through modern infrastructure, trade and people-to-people linkages. \u201cMore than 150 countries are now part of BRI, almost half a million jobs have been created globally and BRI transport corridors are projected to increase global rail income by 2 to 4 percent,\u201d he noted.
\nReferring specifically to Pakistan, the minister said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was far more than a set of infrastructure schemes. \u201cFor Pakistan, CPEC is not just an infrastructure project \u2013 it is a strategic development framework built on trust and long-lasting partnership for mutual and regional prosperity,\u201d he added.
\nThe minister highlighted that CPEC had already added 8,000 MW to Pakistan\u2019s national grid, built over 1,000 km of modern highways and motorways, operationalised Gwadar Port, initiated groundwork for special economic zones, and established a digital backbone for future cooperation in information technology and artificial intelligence. \u201cCPEC\u2019s success shows what regional cooperation can achieve when driven by clear purpose and commitment,\u201d he said.
\nAhsan underlined that Pakistan was reorienting its strategic paradigm from geopolitics to geoeconomics, with a clear objective to become the \u201cmost efficient, reliable and cost-effective connectivity hub\u201d linking Central Asia, China, South Asia, the Middle East and global markets. Gwadar, he noted, offered the shortest maritime route for Central Asian republics, cutting transit time by up to 70 percent.
\n\u201cGwadar\u2019s potential is regional, not just national,\u201d he said. \u201cIt can become the anchor of a Eurasian supply chain complementing Western China and Central Asia.\u201d
\nEnvisioning a rapidly transforming integrated region, Ahsan said \u201cImagine a future where goods from Almaty, Bishkek, Dushanbe and Ashgabat reach global markets in days; where joint industrial clusters produce for the world; where energy pipelines, transmission lines and AI research centers create a regional knowledge economy. This future is not a distant dream \u2013 it is within our reach.\u201d
\nTo translate this vision into reality, the minister proposed a four-point cooperation framework and time-bound cooperation mechanisms.
\nFirst, he called for a joint task force on connectivity and economic integration, supported by harmonised railway and aviation routes, customs digitisation, single-window trading systems and coordinated border procedures. \u201cSuch harmonisation would reduce logistics costs by 20\u201330 percent across Eurasia,\u201d he noted.
\nSecond, he proposed regional special economic zones, jointly developed by Central Asia, Pakistan and China to build shared supply chains, promote manufacturing, encourage Central Asian investment in Gwadar and Karachi, and facilitate industrial cooperation. \u201cRegional SEZs could generate $50\u201360 billion in industrial output within a decade,\u201d he added.
\nThird, he suggested an Eurasian Energy and Clean Transition Partnership, focusing on electricity trade via CASA-1000-type grids, gas pipeline connectivity, renewable energy, hydropower collaboration, value chains for critical minerals and climate-resilient infrastructure. \u201cAt a time of global energy insecurity, this partnership can anchor stability for decades,\u201d he remarked.
\nFourth, Ahsan called for establishing a Digital Silk Road and Future Skills Alliance to promote cooperation in artificial intelligence, FinTech, cybersecurity, e-commerce, smart agriculture and youth innovation. \u201cOur young population must become the architects of tomorrow\u2019s economy,\u201d he emphasised.
\nHighlighting shared regional challenges, including climate change, technological disruption and development gaps, the minister said no nation could overcome them alone.
\nHe said initiatives like the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative, introduced by President Xi Jinping, provided a timely and people-centric framework for joint development. \u201cThese approaches deeply resonate with Pakistan\u2019s vision,\u201d he said.
\nThe minister called for collective resolve, saying the 21st century would be shaped not by geography but by leadership and the choices nations make together.
\n\u201cIf we choose connectivity over isolation and cooperation over fragmentation, our region can emerge as the strategic economic center of the world. Pakistan stands ready, committed and optimistic. Together, we can build a future worthy of our rich history and heritage, a future of stability, innovation and shared prosperity,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday called for renewed commitment to regional connectivity, economic integration and long-term cooperation among China, Central Asia and South Asia, stressing that \u201cgreat nations and great cultures do not rise in isolation; they flourish through exchange.\u201d In his televised address at the Tian …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":71633,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90419","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=90419"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90451,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90419\/revisions\/90451"}],"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=90419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}