Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has finalized draft modalities for third-party participation in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to attract investment from countries or entities other than China, well-informed sources in the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives told republic policy.
This was disclosed at a CPEC progress meeting presided over by the Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal, convened to finalize the agenda for the 12th Special Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) on CEPC meeting on July 11, 2023, in Beijing. Iqbal will lead Pakistan’s team. The purpose of this meeting is to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of CPEC.
In June 2022, MoFA imposed a ban on announcements regarding the inclusion of third parties in CPEC projects on the pretext that both Pakistan and China have already decided to refrain from making public announcements.
However, now the government is finalizing its plan to attract investment from third parties or parties to CPEC projects. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered India to take advantage of the CPEC infrastructure project a few days ago instead of creating hurdles.
“Ministry of Foreign Affairs apprised that draft modalities for third-party participation in CPEC under Joint Working Group on international cooperation and coordination have been devised and shared with all stakeholders for input,” the sources added.
Minister for Planning, sources said, directed CPEC Secretariat to get approval before sharing input draft modalities with MoFA.
Sources said the Board of Investment (BoI) briefed the meeting that about 800 acres of land in Boston SEZ are infringed upon. It was decided that the Government of Balochistan will take immediate action to get the land vacated to ensure Bostan SEZ’s development on the envisaged 1000 areas.
Minister for Planning expressed serious reservations about the delay in floating of Request for Proposal (RFP) for the feasibility study of the Islamabad Model Special Economic Zone despite the project’s authorization issuance in early May 2023. He directed BoI to advertise the RFP immediately.
Ministry of National Food Security and Research stated that the feasibility study for developing an FMD-free zone in South Balochistan is underway and expected to be completed within one month.
The government of Punjab has also taken the initiative to develop an FMD-free zone in the Cholistan area.
According to sources, Power Division informed that they had approached their Chinese counterpart for the Joint Energy Working Group (JEWG) meeting, but their response is still awaited.
