Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Planning and Development Minister Chaudhry Ahsan Iqbal has said that Pakistan can sustain eight to ten per cent economic growth for next three decades mainly due to China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Addressing a gathering of international business leaders at a Business Summit in Islamabad on Thursday, he said that this high growth rate can bring Pakistan among the top twenty-five economies of the world by 2030.

The minister said that CPEC is providing huge opportunities to international investors who can take advantage of these opportunities.

Ahsan Iqbal said that the whole world is now looking at this project and concerned ministers of almost all European Union (EU) countries have met him and expressed their wish to join Pakistan by investing in CPEC.

He said that this project can create connectivity in the region and connect the three billion people of South Asia, Central Asia and China. He added that the nine industrial zones being built under CPEC will create eighty-five million new jobs.

The minister urged the international business leaders to play their role in making Pakistan an Asian tiger by exploiting huge opportunities offered by the CPEC.

Speaking on the occasion, United States (US) Ambassador David Hale said that Pakistan and the US are enjoying long bilateral relations in various sectors, including business, trade, education and agriculture.

He said that Pakistani entrepreneurs are capable of developing innovative business ideas and can compete any one on global scale.