‘CPEC industrial cooperation divorced from original CPEC, RBI’

ISLAMABAD: Special Secretary Cabinet Dr Safdar Sohail on Wednesday explained his position on “stunting for Pakistan” and stated CPEC industrial cooperation was divorced from the original CPEC and Road & Belt Initiative (RBI).

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, Dr Safdar Sohail who has been Pakistan's Lead Negotiator for the CPEC Long Term Plan and the first Convener of the CPEC Joint Working Group on Industrial Cooperation, had yesterday urged the Board of Investment (BOI) to re-situate the future developments in the context of bilateral industrial cooperation in the originally agreed upon Vision of industrial development in the Outline MoU on the CPEC LTP signed in November 2014 and reflected in the CPEC LTP approved by the NDRC and Pakistani LTP.

While speaking on the Way Forward for the CPEC Industrial Cooperation, Dr Safdar said he was using the harsh word of “stunted” for the CPEC Long Term Plan because it failed to achieve the strategic institutional thickening. “It was a bad luck for the LTP process that the officials dealing with the LTP on the Chinese side were somehow averse to accepting any long-term commitments with Pakistan, he concluded.