CPEC 2.0 will bolster Pakistan’s 5E initiative, said Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal while addressing a seminar held here by KASB Ktrade Securities.
The 5Es initiative is centred around five key pillars, which include exports, E-Pakistan, environment and climate change, energy and infrastructure and equity and empowerment.
The seminar themed “CPEC 2.0: Business Collaboration Between Pakistan and China”. Ahsan Iqbal highlighted the opportunities of the new phase of CPEC featured by B2B cooperation with a view to the outcomes of Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to China earlier this month.
The Planning Minister summarised that over 1000 business meetings were held during PM’s visit to China, which has brought together over 150 companies from Pakistan and over 200 firms in China in a grand business conference.
In terms of the first “E”, exports, he cited the success of sesame seeds and chilies. “The exports of sesame seeds to China just started around 3 years ago, and today we have an export of $300 million.
Similarly, exports of chilies have expanded exponentially. There are huge potential for Pakistani products to hit the Chinese market”, he said.
