Daily Times

Pakistan, Iran and Turkiye Road Transport Corridor, in conjunction with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project, will prove to be a game-changer in promoting regional trade among the four friendly nations. Pakistan-China Joint Chambers of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) President Moazzam Ghurki expressed these views in a think-tank meeting on Pak-Turkey-China tripartite trade, here on Monday.

He said that Turkiye, like China, had been an all-weather friend of Pakistan and the friendly relationship was now more integrated into international trade because of CPEC and BRI projects, which had created new opportunities for Turkiye as well as Pakistan. Turkiye’s exports to China would be able to route through Pakistan towards China, he said, asserting that Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul Road Transport Corridor Project was successfully carrying commercial cargo on Pakistani trucks to Turkiye and vice versa up to Chinese markets.

The PCJCCI Senior Vice President Fang Yulong said that both countries shared positive trade relations and the investments by Turkish companies in Pakistan had increased by over US$1 billion. The two countries also signed a Strategic Economic Framework agreement that covers a broad spectrum of cooperation in science and technology, defense, tourism, education, and health. He said that PCJCCI would enhance Chinese investment in this sector to create a sustainable economic triangle amongst the three friendly states.

The joint chamber Vice President Hamza Khalid said that apart from recent economic initiatives, Pakistan should take additional steps to reprioritise this essential aspect of the bilateral equation with Turkiye. Successful completion of ongoing projects with Turkiye such as Trans-Afghan Railway project, CASA-1000, and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline could significantly improve Pakistan’s connectivity with Western Asia and Europe, he said and urged to exploit such projects in conjunction with BRI project of China.

Salahuddin Hanif, Secretary General PCJCCI, shared his views by saying that Pakistan’s economic woes were no longer simply a domestic issue but a foreign policy challenge. Considering that Turkiye was such a close ally, where President Erdogan had addressed the parliament four times, exploring an economic dimension within the bilateral relationship makes sense. It was yet to be seen if the administration of Pakistan could reprioritise international relations beyond the national security prism and without compromising Chinese Economic Development Programme in the region.