DAVOS: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said Pakistan didn’t have any debt fears arising out of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
In an interview to the Nikkei Asian Review on sidelines of World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Abbasi stated regarding loans linked to CPEC projects, an independent body would shoulder the loan majorly and it wouldn’t necessary contribute to a rise in national debt.
Also, Abbasi stressed fears of a Chinese “debt trap” were compounded and misled. He added the CPEC had two core components, one financial sustainability and second environmental conservation and all projects were being established on these two fundamental principles.
PM Abbasi noted infrastructure development under CPEC alongside improved public security would improve global trust in Pakistan and allow foreign entities not only Chinese ones to invest with confidence.
He said economic benefits would also be reaped from improvement in power generation, lower-cost transportation and added development of Gwadar Port in Balochistan would also benefit other neighbouring countries in Central Asia.
Regarding Pakistan’s economic growth during current financial year 2017-18, Abbasi stated the rate of economic growth would be higher than FY 2016-17 when it grew by 5.3 percent, the quickest in almost a decade.
Furthermore, Abbasi said exports had shown reasonable growth in last six months and despite rupee devaluation and rise in oil prices, inflation remained under control. He predicted economic growth could possibly reach around 6 percent.
