After the successful third Belt and Road (BRI) forum 2023 held in Beijing, the Caretaker Planning Minister for Planning Development & Special Initiatives, Muhammad Sami Saeed reviewed a progress over the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects while directed the relevant stakeholders to expedite the projects. The Minister reviewed the projects during his visit at CPEC Secretariat where he was given a detailed briefing over the CPEC projects. The meeting was attended by the Secretary Planning Ministry, Project Director, CPEC and Sector specialists of CPEC Secretariat.

Project Director, CPEC gave a comprehensive briefing regarding the progress related to completed projects, the ongoing projects and areas which were highlighted in the BRI Forum. It is noted that the third BRI forum 2023 was held in Beijing from Oct 17 to 18 in which Prime Minister Anwar Ul Haq Kakar represented Pakistan. The forum focused on Research and Innovation, Communication, Science & Technology, Industry, Agriculture, Energy, Tourism and other areas.

The second Phase of CPEC has already started as both the countries have been celebrating the decade of CPEC. During the meeting, the Minister emphasized the importance of new areas which includes Agriculture, Science & Technology and Information Technology.

The Minister further added that CPEC played a vital role in transforming Pakistan's economic landscape while emphasising on areas like Agriculture, Science & Technology and Information Technology, the Minister said that there is a huge potential in the above areas which need to be explored.

During the meeting, it was further highlighted the establishment of special economic zones (SEZs) and the increased investment by Chinese companies in various sectors. This collaboration has not only promoted industrialization in Pakistan but also created job opportunities and boosted the country's export capacity.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP) — Pak-China