BEIJING: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Monday said that the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) were all about shared prosperity, beginning a new era for humanity and vowing progress and prosperity in the poor regions.
However, in his address to the Leaders Roundtable as part of the two-day Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, the prime minister called for addressing four areas that require more focus. He called for reviewing overall progress as all stand to benefit from early harvest projects. Nawaz stressed that the initiative must continue to deliver ‘win-win’ outcomes, adding, “All should win. All should succeed.”
He said the new OBOR family and the international community should coordinate and synergise their initiatives to create and enhance the space for cooperation.
Nawaz said Pakistan strongly favours cooperation and synergetic partnerships across regions for socioeconomic development and prosperity. He emphasised on policy synergy at the level of international bodies and mentioned that several national planning bodies, the UN, international conferences and regional organisations had developed plans and initiatives on global issues and established partnerships with OBOR.
Most importantly, he said, the Bretton Woods institutions and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank should deepen their cooperation in knowledge-sharing, development financing and country-level coordination through cohesive institutional interaction.
Nawaz said the roundtablewas an opportunity to explore ways to enhance collaboration under the banner of the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative, deepen cooperation and review the progress made so far.
He said Pakistan was focusing on synergy at three levels. These included harmonising national development plans with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, closely coordinating with China for planning and implementation of CPEC, and finally liaising with International Financial Institutions for policy alignment.
He said the forum should have at least three outcomes in order to achieve the goal of policy synergy. These include expanding consensus for OBOR, enhance cooperation in development and implementation, and finally the need to prepare a blueprint and roadmap for long-term cooperation, he added.
“Work has already begun across Asia and Africa on infrastructure, industrial cooperation and new platforms of technology.”
