Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday termed the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) a “blessing” for Pakistan and an opportunity to attract foreign investment in the cash-starved country.
He was addressing a ceremony at the Central Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, during his first official visit to China since assuming charge as the Prime Minister of Pakistan in August this year.
“We need foreign investments more than ever before, because we have a current account deficit,” the Pakistani premier said, a day after he invited Chinese businessmen to explore Pakistan’s vast investment potential.
“China, through CPEC, has given Pakistan an opportunity to attract [foreign] investments. CPEC is a blessing for Pakistan, it’s very important for the country, it’s an opportunity to attract investments,” he said.
PM Imran said his meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his counterpart Li Keqiang had given him even more confidence that Pakistan would be able to get out of the current economic crisis.
“My government is confident that we can get out of the crisis. For the last 15 years we have suffered as a result of the war against terrorism,” he told the gathering.
Pakistan’s foreign reserves have plunged 42 percent since the start of the year and now stand at about $8 billion, or less than two months of import cover.
Last month, Pakistan received a $6 billion rescue package from Saudi Arabia, but officials say it is not enough and the country still plans to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to avert a balance of payments crisis. It would be Pakistan´s 13th rescue package from the multilateral lender since the late 1980s.
PM Imran said corruption and money laundering were the biggest problems facing Pakistan.
“Corruption, money laundering by the ruling elites created problems for the country, badly impacted the economy.”
He noted that Pakistan had been one of the fastest-growing economies in the world in the 1960s, and its five-year plan had even been emulated by South Korea and Malaysia.
