Pakistan emerged as leading partner of Belt and Road Initiative: International Survey
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BEIJING: Pakistan has emerged as a leading partner of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), introduced by President Xi Jinping six years back, according to a survey released at a media and think tank exchange event held in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.
The fast and smooth functioning of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) makes Pakistan’s role most prominent in the community of the nations. The CPEC is cited as a practical demonstration of BRI’s concept of shared destiny.
According to the survey, BRI has been gaining more recognition globally and will help support economic development across Asia and beyond. The 2019 Belt and Road Media and Think Tank Exchange Event attracted mainstream media representatives and think tank experts from 17 countries, including Pakistan and India.
Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chairman of the Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee, represented Pakistan at the meeting. Addressing the meeting, he said that the media and think tanks have an important function in the international community with regard to communicating and avoiding conflicts.
“People are the best bridge to different cultures communicating,” he said. “An initiative is needed for cultures to learn from each other, and we need to promote the development of such an initiative.”
A report released during the event, titled “Leading a New Round of Global Opening up and Cooperation; The Belt and Road in the Eyes of the International Community”, found that the global community’s recognition of the initiative has been increasing each year.
China’s neighbouring countries particularly Pakistan has the best understanding of it, according to the report. In last year’s survey of six ASEAN countries, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Vietnam, 70pc of respondents said they knew of the BRI.
In another survey conducted in 11 Asian countries, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, and India, 56pc of respondents thought the BRI provides a new solution for global governance and a new mode for equal and win-win cooperation among countries.
The international community recognizes the BRI’s positive impacts on the development of their own countries, the report said.
