Pakistan: BRI a harbinger of new era

Islamabad – “Belt and Road Initiative is a harbinger of new era and will bridge the gap between the North and the South,” Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said at the Cross-Regional Media Fusion among the Belt and Road Partners held on Tuesday.

Organized by the Center for Global and Strategic Studies (CGSS), Islamabad, the conference started with the opening remarks by Major General Syed Khalid Amir Jaffery (retd), President CGSS who said the BRI was a comprehensive project to promote regional connectivity, China Economic Net reported.

Dr Awan elaborated on the significance of media fusion of BRI states. She said President Xi Jinping’s vision of BRI was a harbinger of new era of connectivity. “The BRI will bridge the gap between North and South. Sustainable progress is being made in the CPEC project and emphasis is being made on socioeconomic development and agriculture sector,” she added.

BRI and CPEC, she said, were reshaping the geo-economic landscape and bringing prosperity not only for Pakistan but shared development for the entire region. “CPEC has created 20, 000 scholarships for the students of Pakistan and 1000 schools will be developed under this project. Scope of CPEC has been broadened to benefit the people of Pakistan,” she said.

Dr Awan appreciated the positive role of media in Pakistan to eliminate the negative propaganda against CPEC. She said organization of such conferences and discussion forums is the major way to exterminate such misconceptions. “BRI is the future of the region, and Pakistan government is determined to facilitate the investors in CPEC’s projects,” she maintained.

Pang Chunxue, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Islamabad said China is the engine of economic growth and has brought more opportunities for shared development for all partners. “China is building a new model that features no conflict, rejects cold war, power politics and creates win-win situation for all,” she said.

Pang Chunxue said China had promoted peaceful diplomacy and cooperation that aims at building a world with shared prosperity. “In a nutshell, peace and stability is the need of the time and BRI is important to achieve this goal. BRI will cut the global cost on trade,” she added.

Mudassar Tipu, Director General China, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad highlighted the regional cooperation through the platform of Media. He stated that, “ CPEC is a priority project. Pakistan’s media is very vibrant but we must make sure that the news that is being reported is objective and not false. We believe that CPEC is a guaranteed progress initiative and will bring a qualitative shift for Pakistan’s image.”

Ambassador Akbar Gasemi – Ministry of Foreign Affairs from Iran stressed upon Iran’s strategic partnership with Beijing, He said that, “we are experiencing international regional development in its critical condition. Pakistan has decisive role being a regional actor for security and development. Media has its constructive role to promote exclusive cooperation in west and Asian region.”

Prominent international speakers with media background from China, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Iran, Kyrgyz Republic, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan also provided valuable insight regarding the topic.