Speakers call for extension of CPEC to Afghanistan

Abdullah Jan

Lahore: Speakers at a seminar here on Thursday suggested that Pakistan must make progress towards (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) CPEC’s extension to Afghanistan as a priority.

The speakers were unanimous in pointing out that promoting economic integration with neighbours and region was of crucial importance for Pakistan’s economic recovery, growth and development.

They endorsed that CPEC as a hallmark of China’s Built and Road Initiative (BRI) needed to be used as a key instrument for strengthening regional infrastructure, energy and trade/transit connectivity, said a press release .

The speakers were unanimous that CPEC’s extension to Afghanistan had to be a starting point towards achieving this objective. However, some of the speakers also suggested the need for bold efforts by Pakistan to overcome the impediments in the way of progress towards CPEC’s extension to Afghanistan as a priority.

Former Ambassador Asif Durrani said that it was a wrong perception that CPEC was not making progress; over the last ten years CPEC has made phenomenal advances through substantive Chinese investments.

About extension of CPEC to Afghanistan, he was of the view that several impediments need to be overcome, adding ,’ the biggest one is that the Taliban since taking over Afghanistan have not been able to develop a normalized interaction with the world due to their unacceptable stance on some of the issues.”

He described that India also continue to see CPEC and its extension to Afghanistan as a threat to its own interests. Durrani emphasized that stability in Afghanistan and the region was important for promoting economic interaction including CPEC’s extension.

Former Minister of Investment Haroon Sharif underlined that connectivity not a goal per se. It should actually translate into economic benefits and prosperity for the people. In this regard he said that 40 percent of the connectivity projects in the world fail because of not accommodating this crucial factor.

Haroon Sharif stressed that in a region where the market of Pakistan is the biggest excluding China and India and knowing that 60% of global growth is coming from China and India, “if we want to become a part of the global network, connectivity with India and China is necessary”.

Former deputy speaker of Afghan Wolesi Jirga Mirwais Yasini sharing an Afghan perspective suggested that security was of prime importance for economic endeavours. He acknowledged that for a land locked country like Afghanistan, CPEC would be pivotal in job creation and preventing anarchy in the region. He alluded that Afghanistan’s mineral resources such as lithium mines could be vital for production of batteries and so promoting industry and technology. He reiterated that extension of BRI and CPEC to Afghanistan will provide a competitive advantage to China over other international investors, but this can only happen if security was ensured.

General(retd) Nasir Janjua highlighted opposition of the US and the West to China besides India also wanted to counter both China and Pakistan.

The participants appreciated the importance of such events to openly discuss the crucial areas of Pakistan’s policies relating to neighbours and regional economic interaction to increase awareness and bringing youth on board.