Pakistan does not view Chabahar as rival for Gwadar: Pak min

EghtesadOnline: Pakistan Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal has said that Pakistan does not look at Chabahar port's progress as competition against Gwadar port, but a development that complements the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Express Tribune reported.

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16 December 2016

He said this during a conference of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics. The theme of the lecture was ‘Regional and Domestic Political Economy’.

According to IRNA, Iqbal said that the policies should be research-based and should not be formed intuitively.

Highlighting the importance of CPEC for Pakistan, the minister said that the project is not only a game-changer but it could also be a fate-changer if implemented correctly.

Iran has also announced that it would like to participate in CPEC projects.

Iqbal said 10 years ago, the world was looking Pakistan as a security concern but now governments and think-tanks worldwide are looking for opportunities they can gain through CPEC.

Iqbal said that CPEC is not just about transportation infrastructure and energy projects. “It is a framework that is much broader, holistic, and looks at all the socioeconomic factors of development.” The minister added that under CPEC, China does not look at Pakistan as a market but a country with shared destiny.