CPEC to strengthen industrial cooperation in priority sectors

ISLAMABAD: The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) could speed up the industrial cooperation in priority sectors, said Haroon Sharif, the former Minister of State and Chairman of Pakistan Board of Investment.

“At this stage, there is a huge scope for investments in the health sector including pharmaceuticals and expansion of hospitals’ network,” said Sharif in an exclusive interview with China Economic Net (CEN).

The CPEC, he said could help strengthening the digital technology- base in Pakistan, as the world moves to remote working. More specifically, there is a huge demand for digital education in the remote areas of Pakistan.

“China should also look at relocating some industries to mitigate future risks,” said Mr Sharif, adding that a number of global buyers would like to have diversified production sources in future rather than taking the risk of dealing with one country.

Pakistan has the comparative advantage in value added textiles, agriculture-based food processing and information technology, he said. He told CEN it is critical for China to create support mechanisms for priority industrial sectors that can create the majority of jobs in Pakistan, such as agriculture, services and manufacturing.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, textiles, food processing and retail will be badly hit. A Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) fund to support these economic sectors will be extremely helpful to keep the momentum of CPEC going.

According to him, focus of CPEC should move towards human development and funds need to be allocated for expanding the health infrastructure as well as essential skills for the labor-force.

About Prime Minister Imran Khan’s public appeal to the Group of 20 (G20) for debt relief to the developing countries, Mr Sharif said it certainly carried weight and strengthened the case for deferral of debt payments till December 2020.

He said, “It is important to understand that there hasn’t been a debt write-off for and it is kind of a rescheduling of repayments. Using it as “debt relief” may cause confusion among general public.”