CPEC’s second phase to ensure poverty alleviation: minister

ISLAMABAD: Planning, Development & Reform Minister Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar said on Friday that the ongoing phase of CPEC would bring about socio-economic benefits for the people, as the second phase focuses on poverty alleviation, agriculture and industrial cooperation.

The minister was talking to Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing in Islamabad. Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan, Planning Secretary Zafar Hasan and senior officials of the ministry were also present on the occasion.

The minister maintained that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) offered enormous potential to boost the national economy and reduce poverty.

He also discussed future projects which would be included under the CPEC framework, including petroleum and petrochemical plants, dams, refineries and gas pipelines.

“The pace of CPEC projects has accelerated ever since the incumbent government came into power,” the minister claimed.

During the meeting, various matters related to CPEC projects and the next Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC), which would be held in Islamabad in November, came under discussion.

The Chinese ambassador Yao Jing expressed satisfaction over the progress of CPEC projects and hoped that bilateral partnership between the two friendly countries would strengthen further.

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