Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said: “Trade activity has the potential to increase.”
Islamabad:
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday proposed turning the ambitious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into a “trilateral agreement” between China, Pakistan and Turkey so that all three friendly nations can take advantage of its potential.
Sharif made the comments during a launch ceremony at Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works for the third MILGEM Corvette built by Turkey.
“Trade activities have the potential to grow many times with the development of financial and industrial activities. The ongoing CPEC project will translate our desire to improve regional connectivity and maximize trade […] centered on Gwadar,” Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper quoted the prime minister as saying.
“I would like to take this opportunity to propose that this CPEC should be a trilateral agreement between China, Pakistan and Turkey and let us capitalize on its tremendous potential to benefit our nations,” he added, assuring the participants that the Pakistani government was committed to developing maritime infrastructure.
The CPEC is an ambitious $60 billion project that Islamabad believes will transform Pakistan by improving the country’s infrastructure, energy, industrialization and socio-economic development needs and improving the livelihoods of the people.
The ambitious CPEC is a 3,000km route of infrastructure projects connecting China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region, the Uyghur Uyghur region, to the Gwadar Port in western Pakistan’s Balochistan province.
India has protested to China over the CPEC being built by Pakistani-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Shehbaz also praised the launch of the warship built with the cooperation of a Turkish company.
“This is another great example of Pakistan-Turkey cooperation under [the] very capable and dynamic leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is not only a big brother and friend but also a strong supporter of the cause of Pakistan, and under his leadership our mutual brotherly relations have been transformed to much greater heights than before.” , praising Turkey for its assistance in developing the warship.
He pointed out that people witnessed the cooperation between the two countries in all fields, and reiterated that friendly relations could be further strengthened in favor of Pakistan and Turkey by extending the China-led project to Turkey.
As an example of the MILGEM project, the Turkish president said via video link that his country was willing to share its defense expertise with Pakistan as the country is strategically located in South Asia.
“The most modern weapons and sensory systems have been used to equip these ships,” Erdogan said, expressing hopes of further strengthening relations between the two countries.
(This story was not edited by DailyExpertNews staff and was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)
