- Strategic location makes Pakistan hub of regional connectivity: DPM
- Dar emphasizes seamless links across land, rail, air and digital corridors.
- Pakistan’s willingness to strengthen regional value chains highlights
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday underlined the importance of regional connectivity for stability, economic growth and collective progress.
Addressing the International Conference of Regional Transport Ministers in Islamabad on Thursday, he said Pakistan is ready to coordinate transport plans, improve cross-border facilitation, mobilize joint investments and strengthen regional value chains, he reported Radio Pakistan.
He mentioned that Pakistan’s strategic location, connecting South Asia with Central Asia, the Middle East and China, makes it a natural hub for regional connectivity.
Emphasizing that the region has to build seamless linkages across road, rail, air, sea and energy and digital corridors, turning geography into an opportunity, the DPM said CPEC was now widely recognized as a catalyst for energy infrastructure development, transport connectivity and increased trade across South Asia and Central Asia.
Dar further noted that the initiative embodies the country’s commitment to building partnerships that bring tangible benefits not only to Pakistan and China but to the entire region.
He said Pakistan’s highways and expressways form the backbone of regional and national connectivity linking key border crossings with the ports of Karachi and Gwadar.
Referring to key connectivity initiatives, the Deputy Prime Minister said that the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan Railway Framework Agreement is a landmark initiative to open new trade avenues. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to invest in regional energy projects.
Addressing the conference, Communications Minister Abdul Aleem Khan highlighted the need for practical and workable measures to strengthen transport links, facilitate trade and deepen regional integration.
The minister noted that transportation and connectivity are pillars of economic growth and said that efficient transportation systems are a necessity for competitiveness, resilience and sustainability.
Khan said the conference provides an opportunity to share perspectives and forge partnerships to strengthen transportation networks and bring our communities closer together.
