CPEC Phase-2 contributes to socio-economic development of Pakistan: Ambassador Haque.

BEIJING -- The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has entered its second phase, with a focus on industry, agriculture, technology, tourism thus contributing to overall socio-economic development in the country, said Pakistan Ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque.

The flagship project of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is also helping in the development of remote areas, creation of jobs, and improving the livelihoods of people, he said in a recent interview with Sun Chao, Head of Belt and Road Ambassador Interview Program, the Author of Global Leaders on the Belt and Road Initiative.

Sharing his views on many important topics, including China's Belt and Road Initiative, Ambassador Haque termed China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a transformational project for Pakistan.

He said, the CPEC has facilitated the upgrade of our physical infrastructure, addressed our acute energy needs, and contributed to the development of Gwadar Port. It is very much in sync with Pakistan's renewed focus on geo-economics and economic security.A

About the development of innovative sectors in Pakistan, he said, the emerging technologies like AI, robotics, 5G, big data, and quantum computing are having a huge impact on our lives. The useful applications of these technologies in sectors like trade,industry, agriculture, health and education cannot be denied. Consequently, this area has the necessary attention of the government of Pakistan.

Ambassador Haque informed that an initiative called Digital Pakistan has been launched. The government has announced new policy package to promote innovation and research in IT areas. A number of incubation centers in the country have been established to assist new start-up companies.

He said that a Special Technology Zones Authority has been set up with the mandate to promote and encourage entrepreneurship and innovation, ensure facilitation to technology players through a collaborative approach between government, industry and academia.

It is a fast-growing area of cooperation between China and Pakistan. Many Chinese technology companies are already working in Pakistan. Realizing the potential of our bilateral cooperation in IT sectors, we have established a Joint Working Group on IT under CPEC, he added.

He informed that the two countries have recently agreed to launch China-Pakistan Digital Corridor to further enhance cooperation in this regard.

In response to a question regarding people-to-people exchanges, he said that...