CPEC to bring prosperity in entire region, says PM Nawaz

DOHA: Expressing his desire to further strengthen the friendly ties with Qatar, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said Thursday the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project will bring prosperity not only in Pakistan but also the entire region.

Addressing Pakistani community in Qatar today, he said, “We want to promote relations with Qatar in trade and investment”.

The Prime Minister said bilateral trade relations between the two countries were very low and there was need to increase it. He said trade volume will be increased from three hundred million dollars to one thousand million dollars this year.

He said Qatar leadership has acknowledged the role of Pakistani community in the development of their country. The Qatar leadership also said that Pakistani community has great importance for them, he added.

The premier said that his government was working on a number of energy projects including LNG, coal, hydel, solar and wind power to overcome energy shortage. He said: “We will end electricity shortage in the country and also lower the rates of electricity”.

Nawaz Sharif said the LNG agreement signed with Qatar was historic and of great importance to address the gas crisis back home. He thanked Qatar for provision of LNG on best price.

Referring to the economic performance, Nawaz Sharif said the economy has been turned around and the gains made over the past few years have also been appreciated the world financial institutions. He said foreign exchange reserves today stand at the record level.

PM Sharif said the government was also expanding the network of motorways and work on Lahore-Karachi motorway has been started. He said he will soon perform the grounding breaking of this important project.

He said China Pakistan Economic Corridor project will bring prosperity not only in Pakistan but also the entire region. He said the network of Railways is being upgraded while state of the art Gwadar port and airport will be built under the CPEC.

Nawaz Sharif said Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will be put on the path of development and efforts will be made to bring it at par with Qatar Airways.

On the security front, the Prime Minister said overall situation has improved as a result of Zarb-e-Azb operation which has broken the back of terrorists. He vowed that the war on terror will be taken to its logical conclusion.

He said law and order situation has also improved in Karachi and the people of Sindh capital feel more secured today.

He invited overseas Pakistani to invest in Pakistan in different fields. He said the government was making the rules and regulations easier so that they will not face any difficulties.

The Prime Minister said the government was also giving attention to education and health sectors yielding desired results.