ISLAMABAD — Former Pakistani ambassador to China strongly believes thatChabahar and Gwadar ports complement each other and connecting the twoports would be an important chunk in Iran-Pakistan relations.
Talking to IRNA, Tajammul Altaf said that Iran’s joining the China-PakistanEconomic Corridor (CPEC) would be a welcoming development.
Under the CPEC many infrastructure projects are under constructionthroughout Pakistan. Originally valued at $46 billion, the value of CPECprojects is now worth $ 62 billion. The project will link Pakistani Gwadarport to China Xinjiang province.
Tajammul Altaf added there is convergence of interests and the leaders ofIran and Pakistan are positively looking at this equation which is Chabaharcomplementing Gwadar.
“Chabahar is capable of handling 50 million tonnes of cargo whereas Gwadarcan handle 400 million tonnes of cargo,” he said.
“Our leadership is on the same page when they say this complementarityirrespective of the fact that India is one of the biggest investors inChabahar project, should be carried out for the benefit of both Iran andChina,” former ambassador said.
Tajammul Altaf expressing his views said Chinese leadership also wants bothChabahar-Gwadar complement each other and that is very encouraging.
“Why we should think to isolate Chabahar from Gwadar, if Iranians are readyto join CPEC it is good for Pakistan,” the analyst said.
He added Chinese would also welcome that. “We are improving our relationswith Iran and linking Chabahar-Gwadar ports with each other would be animportant chunk in that,” he noted.
Earlier Ambassador to Pakistan Mehdi Honardoost had said thatChina-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a project with great potentialurging other countries in the region to join it and bolster regionalcooperation.