KABUL (TOLONews): The Islamic Emirate welcomes China’s agreement to include Afghanistan in the Pakistan–China Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
While there are many challenges in economic and trade relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan recently expressed hope about joint projects between the two countries. He said that with China’s support, trade and transit relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan will improve rapidly.
Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, stated that China has agreed in principle to include Afghanistan in CPEC.
He said this agreement is part of trilateral discussions between Islamabad, Kabul, and Beijing, the details of which are currently being finalized.
Regarding this, Ishaq Dar said: “In the bilateral meeting held in China on May 20, I requested China to include Afghanistan in this project. We had proposed two specific projects: one was the Pakistan–Afghanistan–Uzbekistan railway line, and the other the Peshawar–Kabul highway, to which the Chinese side basically agreed.”
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Economy has also praised China’s initiative to connect Afghanistan to the economic corridor, stressing that this will contribute to the country’s economic development.
Abdul Latif Nazari, Deputy Minister of Economy, said: “China’s initiative to connect Afghanistan with this project is a beneficial step for Afghanistan. We believe that through joint efforts we can ensure regional economic growth and development.”
Meanwhile, economic experts say that if Pakistan fulfills its trade and economic commitments with Afghanistan, the existing problems between the two countries will be resolved. Otherwise, regional projects such as CPEC, Afghan Transit, and others will not have any significant impact on improving bilateral relations.
Economic affairs analyst Mir Shakir Yaqubi said: “If Pakistan fulfills its commitments, relations will expand through these projects. But no matter how many major projects and agreements there are, if Pakistan’s intentions are not genuine, changes will inevitably occur.”
Currently, alongside Afghanistan’s planned connection with CPEC, other joint projects such as the Afghan Transit transport project, CASA-1000 energy project, TAPI and TAP projects have also been practically launched. According to economic experts, the implementation of these projects will significantly strengthen economic ties between Afghanistan, Pakistan, and neighboring countries.
