Pakistan and China have decided to resume the phase 2 of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and focus on 5 different corridors in this phase.
In this regard Federal Minister of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal, met with the Chinese envoy, Jiang Zaidong at the Planning Ministry. Both sides agreed that work on phase 2 of CPEC needs to be expedited and a working group needs to be established to look into this as soon as possible.
The five corridors to be focused on will include Corridor of Job Creation, Corridor of Innovation, Corridor of Green Energy, and Inclusive Regional Development. The Planning Ministry has already initiated the implementation of the 5Es framework, which includes Export, Energy, Equity, E-Pakistan, and Environment.
During the meeting Ahsan Iqbal also outlined a plan to maximise the utility of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) within Pakistan. He proposed a “one plus Four” model, wherein each SEZ in Pakistan would be partnered with one province from China, one industry group to develop specialized clusters within the SEZs, one SEZ from China to provide technical expertise, and a state-owned enterprise to spearhead SEZ development.
