Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood said on Tuesday that the Pakistan-US relationship would not impact the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, according to Dawn.
Appearing on DawnNewsTV show Live with Adil Shahzeb, he was asked whether Pakistan-US relations could have an impact on CPEC.
“I don’t think so,” he responded, adding that the US knew how important the project was for Pakistan and “it will continue to remain so.”
“Fifty per cent of investments have come from China and our exports to China increased by 30pc following the FTA (free trade agreement). So it [China] is very important for us from a trade and investment perspective and China is a strategic partner for us,” Dawood said.
Replying to a question on whether the US exit from Afghanistan would have any ramifications on Pakistan’s deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dawood categorically said that he did not think so.
He said the finance minister is handling international monetary funds in a proper manner. To another question about the sluggish trend of exports, he said Covid was a factor for slow business activity. He hoped that increasing exports would improve the situation.
“We have separate talks with the IMF and the way [Finance Minister] Shaukat Tarin has handled it is quite good,” he said.
He also stressed the importance of enhancing Pakistan’s regional trade and lamented that the volume of trade with the country’s neighbours was “very low”.
China, he added, is an important country for Pakistan. Chinese investors are taking keen interest in this part of the region, he said adding that 50 percent of investment is coming from China.
Dawood added that Pakistan had decided to approach other regional countries, such as Uzbekistan, to enhance trade relations.
The commerce adviser pointed out that the deputy prime minister of Uzbekistan had visited Pakistan this year, showing keen interest in Islamabad’s proposal for business and investment ties.
“Their interest is to have a route for their goods from Pakistan to African markets while we need a country in the Central Asian Republics that’s regionally connected and that is Uzbekistan,” he said.
Prime Minister Imran Khan is leaving for Uzbekistan next week with trade and investment leaders to enhance bilateral relations with the key Central Asian republic.
Dawood stressed the need for expanding regional trade to boost business activities. The focus should be given to promote trade with regional countries, he said.
