ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ataullah Tarar said on Wednesday the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has brought about a “cultural change,” helping break barriers of language and bringing the two countries closer together.
Pakistan and China have longstanding strategic relations, though much of their interactions have traditionally occurred at the government-to-government level through diplomatic, strategic and economic engagements. People-to-people ties between them have mostly remained limited, though the Pakistani minister said there was a gradual shift in the trend in the wake of the multibillion-dollar economic, infrastructure development and regional connectivity initiative.
Launched in 2015, CPEC includes investments in energy, transport, and industrial zones, and has since become a cornerstone of bilateral ties and Pakistan’s long-term development strategy.
“CPEC in Pakistan has broken a lot of barriers. It has broken the barrier of language, and it has broken the barriers of division. It has brought harmony,” Tarar said while addressing a ceremony organized by the Pakistan-China Institute, a local think tank.
“This corridor brought about a cultural change where we had investments coming in, where we had infrastructure being built, where we had industry being built, where we had airports and seaports being developed.”
