CPEC is set to promote Eurasian connectivity and trade: Ambassador Shafqat Ali

Pakistan Expects CPEC to Facilitate Eurasian Connectivity, Trade

June 4, 2020: Trade between Russia and Pakistan has likely taken a dive due to the coronavirus outbreak, but Islamabad remains determined to boost it after the crisis is over, Pakistani Ambassador to Russia Shafqat Ali Khan said in an interview.

According to the diplomat, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a “flagship bilateral cooperation project” between Islamabad and Beijing.

“But there’s another dimension to this — we look at the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as a part of the larger project of Eurasian connectivity, which is bringing all countries of Eurasia together through a network of trade pacts, trade arrangements, railway lines, road networks, flights, etc. We feel that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, once it is completed, will [enable] the East-West connectivity between one end of Eurasia to the other — from, let’s say, Vladivostok all the way to Hamburg in Germany”, Khan said.

The Pakistani ambassador noted that the project offered great opportunities for the development of economic and trade relations between the regional countries.

“As soon as these East-West connections improve and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is developed successfully, we will be able to trade with Central Asia and Russia through overland roots also”, Khan said.

The CPEC is a $46 billion-worth infrastructure project funded by China that aims to increase the region’s integrity by connecting the Pakistani port city of Gwadar and China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region via transportation routes.