- PM Imran Khan makes maiden speech at Belt, Road Forum
BEIJING – Prime Minister Imran Khan Friday urged the Belt and Road nations to jointly establish BRI tourism corridor to promote people-to-people contacts, inter-cultural understanding and public diplomacy.
Addressing the participants of Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation here, Prime Minister Khan floated a five-point agenda for joint cooperation among the B&R countries.
Khan urged the BRI states to undertake joint efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.
“In the last five years, we successfully planted five billion trees in one of our provinces of called Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). Now, we have launched a nationwide project to plant ten billion trees in the next five years. My suggestion to this forum is that there should be some joint but ambitious project of planting trees so that we can mitigate the effects of climate change for the upcoming generations,” said the prime minister.
Khan also called for establishing an office of anticorruption cooperation to combat the scourge of white collar crime as the white collar crime has ‘devastated the developing world’.
“Fourthly, (let’s) create a Poverty Alleviation Fund that supplements national efforts in the fight against poverty and mal nourishment. In Pakistan, we have recently launched a target poverty alleviation program called ASAS. The aim should be to emulate China’s spectacular success in lifting 800 million people out of poverty within three decades,” he added.
Prime Minister also urged concerted efforts to further liberalize trade and investment flows, encouraging a private sector and businesses to collaborate in projects.
“China’s marvelous civilization has given the world wisdom, harmony and prosperity. It has gifted to humanity great inventions, arts and aesthetics and a culture of compassion and causes existence. We need to direct our efforts and focus on the peoples of our country and towards addressing impediments on the way to sustainable growth,” he added.
Congratulating Chinese President Xi Jinping and the government of People’s Republic of China for organizing the second Belt and Road Forum, the premier said the Belt and Road transforms from vision into reality.
“This gathering of partners and friends affords a useful platform for taking stock and setting the agenda.
In a world of geopolitical uncertainty, of rising inequality, and barriers to trade, the BRI offers a model of collaboration, partnership, connectivity, and shared prosperity,” he said.
He said the new and distinct phase in the onward march of nations of the world along the path of globalization. Referring to several heads of state at the event, the premier said that the presence of so many world leaders today is a proof that we choose hope over despair and cooperation, overcome confrontation.
“A hundred and 22 states 49 international organizations have signed on to the big eyes vision. And this is a historic and a monumental development … Pakistan is proud to have partnered and pioneered with China in this transformational endeavor,” he said.
Khan said Pakistan has been among BRI earliest and most enthusiastic proponents, the China Pakistan Economic Corridor – one of the major components and one of its earliest manifestations which has made substantial progress.
“Pakistan’s energy supplies have increased massively. Our critical infrastructure gaps are being plugged – Gwadar – once the small fishing village now is transforming, transforming rapidly into commercial hub. The other end report will be the largest in our country,” he added.
Together, Khan said, Pakistan and China are entering the next phase of CEPC, with greater emphasis on social economic uplift, poverty alleviation, agriculture cooperation and industrial development.
“We are expanding the frontiers of knowledge through closer engagement and deeper cooperation in fields of education, innovation and technology. Along the length of the corridors, special economic zones are being set to come up offering opportunities for investment for Pakistani Chinese and foreign entrepreneurs, supplementing the next phase of CPEC”.
Khan said China and Pakistan were also signing an expanded Pakistan China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and are changing Pakistan’s economic landscape and interest for the destiny of our people.
“I want to thank China and its leadership for the unwavering support for Pakistan. A deep rooted friendship, partnership and brotherhood with China remain strong, resilient, and unbreakable, standing tall in the face of every challenge”.
The premier also invited world investors to avail Pakistan’s liberal foreign investment regime and participate in its economy, in particular, infrastructure, railways, dams it and manufacturing. “Pakistan will continue to work on the basis of mutual respect and equal opportunity with China and other BRI partners for a better future of our people. Pakistan will support all those who share the vision of a peaceful and prosperous world. We will work together to realize the future of hope and happiness,” concluded the premier.
