The conference would continue for three days from December 13 to 15 December 15, 2016. The theme of this year''s PSDE''s Conference is "China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Regional Integration." Other sponsors of the AGM/Conference include UNDP, FES, World Bank, PPAF, OXFAM, IGC, ILO, IUCN, AKRSP, IFPRI, ADB, and ECO-SF.
The advisor to the prime minister on foreign affairs emphasised the point that most of this outlay is in the form of investment. Drawing a parallel between CPEC investment with loans from the World Bank, Aziz said that it takes many years to get a loan of one or two billion dollars. "The CPEC loans for infrastructure are on soft-loan basis at the rate of 2 per cent and the payback time is 20 to 25 years. Overall investment-to-GDP ratio will increase due to the CPEC projects," he added.
Aziz while highlighting the success of the incumbent government said, "We have achieved 4.5 per cent GDP growth this year, which can increase further by overcoming energy shortages. In this regard, energy-related projects in the CPEC can prove to be very beneficial. Overcoming the energy shortages will also help enhance our GDP growth, which is expected to move to 5 per cent this year."
The adviser said that apart from connectivity, the project will help Pakistan overcome energy shortages. He said many of the multidimensional power projects under the CPEC are under the implementation phase, which will add about 17,000 megawatts of electricity to the national grid. About 6,000 to 7,000 megawatts would come to the system in the next two years.
He also clarified that China is investing $36 billion dollars in these power plants. Highlighting the importance of the Gwadar Port, which is a part of the CPEC, he said that developing Gwadar is not only important for Pakistan but also for the development and uplift of Balochistan.
He said that each province has been asked to build one industrial park each and this is where more work and deliberations are needed as the development of industrial parks is very important to access larger markets and reap full benefits of the CPEC. He said where the CPEC project provides many opportunities, making it a success poses many challenges as well since there are many detractors, adding for this the internal issues need to be overcome and providing security is imperative.
Aziz said that diversification is very important to increase Pakistan''s exports as at present exports are sluggish. He also said that labour market dynamics are very important "because once the industries are set up we cannot expect the Chinese labour force to work in those industries. All in all, we are on the threshold of a significant phase of our development and need to take full advantage of it."
He said, "Our private sector and entrepreneurs should be more forthcoming to bring value addition in the industrial parks to be established in each province under the mega project." The adviser said some detractors are not happy over the multibillion dollars project, but steps have been taken to ensure security of the Chinese personnel, engaged in execution of different projects under the umbrella of the CPEC.
He said the CPEC is a flagship project of the Chinese vision of "One-Belt-One-Road." He said the CPEC is a grand concept that would not only connect China but it would also connect the surrounding countries. He said that in the last twenty-five years, it was South East Asia that contributed to the world growth. In the next twenty-five years, however, it is the West of China, Central Asia, and Pakistan that have the potential to lead the world development. China and Russia are developing Eurasia together but not just for the sake of trade but also to build institutions to aid in development of the entire region, he added.