OBSERVER REPORT
ISLAMABAD Representatives of eight countries while participating in first-ever Non-Governmental Online Conference on Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) pledged that they will work closely to address the common challenges of COVID-19, says a report published by Gwadar Pro on Thursday. According to the report, they agreed that the coronavirus crisis had underlined the need for global interdependence to forge closer cooperation to tackle the soci-economic challenges. The conference, organized by PakistanChina Institute (PCI) on Wednesday was participated by eight countries: Pakistan, China, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka. They also agreed that BRI is the way forward as it connects the whole region, representatives from eight countries including Pakistan andChina concluded Wednesday. They highlighted the significant role of BRI, of which the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the flagship, for tackling the common problems, particularly after post-COVID-19 period. The meeting reached the consensus that the BRI is the way forward as it promotes regional connectivity based on the principles of equality, reciprocity, and mutual benefit while acclaiming CPEC as ‘BRI success story’. The propaganda about the so-called ‘Debt trap’ was rejected by participants as in the case of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, total debt from China was a very small percentage of what is owed to other countries or multilateral institutions. They rejected the ‘New Cold War’, demonization, or stigmatizing any country using COVID19 as a political weapon or targeting BRI on geopolitical grounds. Chairman Pakistan Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Senator Mushahid Hussain, in his opening remarks, termed BRI as the biggest and most significant Diplomatic and Developmental initiative of the 21st century. He said that CPEC, as the flagship of BRI, was already a success story and has entered its second phase successfully. Energy and infrastructure projects have been completed on schedule, with 75,000 Pakistanis got jobs in BRI projects and 28,000 Pakistani students studying in China. He also thanked China for support to Pakistan during the COVID-19 crisis and he mentioned the two resolutions passed by the Pakistan Senate, February 12 and May 14, in which the parliament of Pakistanappreciated China’s role and support