ISLAMABAD, 08 December, 2020, (TON): Pakistani Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood has described the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as a transformational project, adding that there was a complete national consensus on CPEC's indispensability for the country's development efforts.

In the meeting with CPEC Chairman Lt Gen (R) Asim Saleem Bajwa, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood said Pakistan and China are firmly committed to the timely completion of CPEC projects and making it a high-quality demonstration project of the Belt and Road Initiative.

He added that in the post-COVID-19 scenario, through collective efforts of both the countries, China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will become the hub for the regional trade and connectivity and will deepen people-to-people exchanges at a wider level.

Reviewing the progress of CPEC projects, Mahmood said that CPEC energy and infrastructure projects have created thousands of jobs and had boosted industrial growth and productivity.

"It testified to the fact that CPEC's contribution to strengthen Pakistan's economic landscape has been real and substantial," the official said.

The Foreign Secretary underlined that Pakistan's focus in the next phase of CPEC is on industrialization and socio-economic development, areas that will create vast job and growth opportunities for the common people, adding that the government particularly focuses on strengthening agricultural cooperation between Pakistan and China.

CPEC is an economic route stretching from western China through Pakistan to the Indian Ocean coast, which provides an important opportunity to expand trade, by reducing the costs of land transportation. CPEC is a game changer for the region and will be more effective in stimulating Pakistan-China trade if it is well connected to large markets and production centres in Pakistan.