Pak moves closer to China, hails controversial CPEC

Stating that China is a close friend and trusted ally, Sharif told the meet that the CPEC is a core project of OBOR.

Pakistan moved closer towards China while hailing the controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). During his address at the One Belt One Road (OBOR) conference, boycotted by New Delhi, in Beijing on Sunday, Pakistan's Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif said that the CPEC was an "economic undertaking open to all countries in the region.

He further said that it has no geographical boundaries" and it must not be politicised. India had said that, no country can accept a project that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Chinese President Xi Jinping told the OBOR conference that all countries should respect each other's sovereignty, dignity and territorial integrity, each other's development paths and social systems, and each other's core interests and major concerns.

Stating that China is a close friend and trusted ally, Sharif told the meet that the CPEC is a core project of OBOR. It has been rightly called its flagship because it aims to connect the neighbourhoods of East and West Asia. CPEC makes Pakistan both a conduit and destination for cross-regional investment and trade. Let me make it very clear that CPEC is an economic undertaking open to all countries in the region. It has no geographical boundaries. It must not be politicised. In implementing this corridor, we are not striving to merely leverage geography for economic prosperity, we are also trying to build a peaceful, connected and caring neighbourhood, Sharif also said.

OneIndia News