Staff Reporter
Islamabad
Pakistan has rejected US diplomat Alice Wells’ claims that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is financed solely through loans or non-concessional financing with sovereign guarantees.
During the weekly media briefing on Thursday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui sought to set the record straight about a growing impression that Pakistan’s economy is under tremendous burden from Chinese debt. “The CPEC debt amounts to $4.9bn which is not even 10 per cent of the country’s total debt,” she explained.
Farooqui said that the 7,000MW CPEC power projects worth $12.4bn “have reached completion” and that the completion of all other CPEC projects were the government’s top priority. The spokesperson reminded the media that the CPEC “has helped Pakistan to address development gaps in energy, infrastructure, industrialisation and job creation”.
According to the national broadcaster, she stressed that it should be viewed in terms of “enormous economic benefits for the people of Pakistan and social economic development”.
She also highlighted its benefits for “regional connectivity and prosperity”.
The Ministry of Planning also issued a response to Wells’ remarks. According to a statement by the ministry’s spokesperson, “the projects completed so far in Phase-1 have already brought relief and started yielding dividends and tangible socio-economic benefits”.
The statement said that the CPEC projects will accelerate development in the country, boosting its economic growth and ushering in prosperity for the people.
