Zaffar Alam
Pakistan strategic location gives it an immense importance in the region and after completion of the CPEC, the importance will be enhanced manifold in the field of the economic, commercial and geo-strategic. It will help in reducing the poverty, unemployment, and grievances of inequities of Pakistan. It is viewed as the game changer and a win-win situation in the whole region by generating massive trade and economic activity and will open new vistas of progress and prosperity for the people of both countries. According to the Ambassador of China in Pakistan, under the CPEC, energy, transport, infrastructure and industrial projects would significantly emerge at its peak level. It will be beneficial for all the provinces of Pakistan as it is not limited to just a road, but it will connect with motorways and infrastructure projects including Gwadar port.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan’s soft image has already impressed the world even before the fully execution of CPEC project as Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has expressed his interests to invest in the IT and health sectors of Pakistan. The assistance extended by Gates Foundation for eradication of Polio in Pakistan is a well recognized effort. As a result of this assistance as well as the one extended by the WHO and some other friendly countries, Pakistan has been able to reduce significantly its Polio cases and it is expected that the world institutions will be more forthcoming to achieve the long cherished goal of polio-free Pakistan. The investment which if materializes, will undoubtedly help Pakistan to emerge as a major IT player. In fact, the country has enormous potential in this sector. Over the last few years, the IT related exports of the country have increased significantly.
According to the data of State Bank of Pakistan, exports of IT and IT-related services increased to $1.067 billion in the financial year 2017-18, as compared to $939 million recorded in the financial year 2016-17, showing a double-digit growth of 13%. These exports can be multiplied if companies such as Microsoft invest in the development of IT sector. There is a dire need to apply national digital policy with a vision to transform Pakistan into a knowledge-based economy, making IT the top contributor to the country’s export and job creation. IT provides the best platform to give a major impetus to the exports and earn valuable foreign exchange. Just in our neighborhood, India is earning over 100 billion dollars a year alone from IT-related exports. Therefore, our authorities need to explore opportunities of foreign investment in this important sector and fully facilitate the companies be it the Microsoft or any other. Entry of Gates into Pakistani market will give a major boost to the IT sector in Pakistan and also give confidence to other investors to invest in different sectors of the economy. After the complementation of the project, Pakistan is expected to become modernize and could spread out the markets for the manufactured products. Whereas, Gwadar Port and the CPEC established the strategic scaffold for mutual realistic teamwork among both countries. Gwadar is the tail of the Silk Belt which will connect Kashgar through different communication networks. Without Gwadar port fully functional, it would be tough to the anticipated corridor as an energy corridor that appears as one of its main objective behind the construction of CPEC.
The Gwadar port will also put China and Pakistan in a strategically beneficial position along with the Arabia Sea which is the present Indian concerns that stem from China’s involvement in nearby ports such as Hambantota in Srilanka, Sittwe in Myanmar and Chittagong in Bangladesh. The anti-CPEC forces led by India are trying to demolish the region’s fate changer project to destabilize the emerging Pakistan which needs to be dealt with utmost dedication and professional approach.
