DUSHANBE: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has said that Pakistan desires to connect the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with the Central Asian states as per the economic vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Talking to media persons on Thursday, the information minister said, “We have been stressing on the inclusion of Central Asian states even before the current situation in Afghanistan.”
He said that connecting all Central Asian states with rail and road networks will enhance connectivity in the region. He hoped that the situation in Afghanistan would be better. He said that international cooperation with the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan will benefit the entire world.
Separately in a video statement, Fawad said that ‘Vision Central Asia’ is an important milestone of Pakistan’s foreign policy and Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Tajikistan along with a high-level delegation is part of the same vision.
The minister said the PM’s visit would comprise two segments, first he would attend 20th SCO’s Heads of State Summit in Dushanbe and then hold bilateral meetings. The prime minister will have bilateral meetings with other participating leaders including Iranian president, Chinese foreign minister and Central Asian leaders on the sidelines of the SCO Summit.
He said that the PM was scheduled to meet Russian President Putin, but he may not attend the SCO Summit as he has self-quarantined. However he said that the two leaders would meet in the near future.
After attending the moot, the prime minister will have the bilateral segment of the visit to Tajikistan. He said that the PM’s talks with Tajik president will cover the entire gamut of bilateral relations, especially enhancing trade, economic and investment ties with a particular focus on regional connectivity.
The prime minister will also inaugurate the first meeting of the Pakistan-Tajikistan Business Forum. The Joint Business Forum will catalyse growing trade and investment relations and promote business-to-business contacts between the trading communities of both sides. A meeting of the Pakistan-Tajikistan Joint Business Council will also be held on the sidelines.
He said that the Afghanistan situation would also figure in during the SCO conference. He said that Tajikistan has an important role in the normalcy of Afghanistan and the visit would provide an opportunity to further promote Pakistan’s doctrine of stable and inclusive government in Kabul.
