Federal Minister Planning attends 11th Summer Davos in China

June 28,2017

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform, Prof. Ahsan Iqbal, attended the 11th Annual Meeting of New Champions, also known as the “Summer Davos,” in Dalian, China, from 27 to 28 June 2017.
 
Speaking at the event on the global implications of China's One Belt, One Road (OBOR), Prof. Ahsan Iqbal said that the Chinese vision for the OBOR has correctly focused on connectivity in order to reach a higher plane of human development across the world. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the flagship project of the OBOR, which encompasses investments totaling more than $50 billion in two years, the Minister said, and would bring together the growth engines of South Asia, China and Central Asia, thereby leading to tangible economic benefits to people in the region.
 
“The CPEC is bringing much-needed investment into energy and infrastructure sectors, which had become bottlenecks for faster growth,” the Minister said, adding that the OBOR and CPEC are creating opportunities for sustained growth by breaking cycles of poverty and under development.
 
In response to a question, the Minister said that Pakistan's macroeconomic indicators had witnessed across-the-board improvement in recent years. Budget deficit has been cut from 9% of GDP to less than 4.5%, foreign reserves have doubled, GDP growth is at highest level in ten years. This fact has been noted by international financial institutions and is evidenced by increasing foreign investment in Pakistan, both from China and other countries. Investors are finding it impossible to overlook Pakistan's 200 million population-market, with 60-80 million growing class of affluent consumers, and the Government's business-friendly policies, he said.