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Pakistan announced Thursday that Saudi Arabia has agreed to join and "heavily" invest in its bilateral infrastructure and industrial development projects funded by China.
Prime Minister Imran Khan's in-depth talks with Saudi leaders during this week's official visit to Riyadh gave rise to historic development, Pakistan's information minister said.
As part of President Xi Jinping's (BIS) Global Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing is investing billions of dollars in Pakistan to help the close ally build and modernize the transportation network, power plants and the deepwater port of Gwadar, establish industrial zones to strengthen Pakistan's capacity as a production center in the region.
The bilateral program, known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), is the fastest part of the BIS and is considered the centerpiece.
"Saudi Arabia is the first country we have invited to become a third partner of the CPEC. They will be our third strategic economic partner at CPEC, and Saudi Arabia should make massive direct investments in the project, "Minister Fawad Chaudhry told a news conference in Islamabad.
A high-level advisory committee, proposed by Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, was formed to elaborate the details of the initiative, he said.
Chaudhry added that Saudi Arabia plans to send a high-level delegation, including their ministers of finance and energy, to Pakistan during the first week of October. Both parties during the visit will "lay the foundation for a major economic partnership" between the two countries. This decision is expected to strengthen the close relations between Islamabad and Riyadh.
Historical investment
The CPEC has already provided Pakistan with an unprecedented $ 19 billion investment over the last five years, creating more than 70,000 local jobs and adding thousands of megawatts of electricity to the national structure. Over the next 15 years, China plans to invest about $ 62 billion in Pakistan.
The corridor is ultimately aimed at providing access to the western region of western China from Xinjiang for international markets via the Pakistani port of Gwadar.
The Saudi Arabian partnership under the CPEC is seen as a major boost for Pakistan, run out of liquidity and facing an economic crisis and a critical pressure on the balance of payments. Foreign debt repayments have left the country with less than two months of foreign exchange reserves imports, Pakistani Finance Minister Asad Umar told parliament this week.
"Saudi Arabia's active participation in the CPEC is a positive development because it shows the success of the CPEC," said Senator Mushahid Hussain, head of the foreign affairs committee of the upper house of Pakistan's parliament.
"This will help counter negativism about CPEC emanating from India and the United States, and also underlines the importance of Pakistan as a key player in regional economic cooperation", Hussain told VOA.
BRI Review
New Delhi and Washington both criticized CPEC and BRI in general. India suspects that the project has hidden security objectives and says that part of this project is being built on the disputed territory of Kashmir. The Pakistani and Chinese officials reject these objections because their political motivation and the maintenance of the CPEC are "a purely economic initiative".
Beijing also rejects criticisms that the CPEC is overwhelming Pakistan with extended lending and pushing the country into a debt trap.
Only four of the 22 early-harvest projects under completion use Chinese concessional loans of about $ 6 billion, said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to Islamabad at the beginning of the year. month. The other projects, he said, are under construction with direct Chinese investments or with China's help.
"The CPEC has not imposed a debt burden in Pakistan, but when these projects are completed and come into effect, they will generate significant economic benefits … and bring significant benefits to the Pakistani economy. "Wang said.
While Islamabad's ties with Washington have deteriorated, Beijing has deepened bilateral economic and military relations with its South Asian partner. Russia has also intervened and is rapidly reviving bilateral relations in all areas with the former rival of Pakistan.
Tensions between Pakistan and the United States stem from allegations that the country is harboring terrorist sanctuaries used to carry out attacks on US and local forces in Afghanistan, charges denied by the Pakistani authorities.
Beijing and Moscow both hailed Islamabad's efforts against terrorism, saying they had contributed to regional peace and stability.
