ISLAMABAD, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- The development of the Gwadar port under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will play a vital role in promoting Pakistan's prosperity and regional connectivity, speakers at a webinar on the Gwadar port said on Friday.
The webinar, convened by Pakistan-based think tank the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, was attended by Chairman of the CPEC Authority in Pakistan Asim Saleem Bajwa, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing, Director General China at Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Muhammad Mudassir Tipu, and a number of experts and entrepreneurs from Pakistan and China.
While expressing his deep satisfaction over Gwadar port operating at its full potential, Bajwa said that the government of Pakistan is totally committed to the socio-economic development of Balochistan province where Gwadar is located, with focus on ensuring participation of local people.
"Vocational training is being provided to enable local population to participate and get fully benefited from the development projects under CPEC," he said.
The CPEC Authority chairman said that the Gwadar port is becoming fully functional and Afghan transit trade has started to divert towards Gwadar.
Speaking at the event, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing said that Gwadar has huge potential for the development of Pakistan and regional connectivity.
The participants also highlighted the significance of enhancing cooperation in the field of agriculture and food security.
The experts were of the view that developing special economic zones for agriculture under CPEC would play a key role in linking Pakistani agriculture based commodities with the Chinese food value chain. Enditem
