Gilgit-Baltistan: Kashgar-Gawadar Economic Corridor

Karachi (BR): Trade activities between Gilgit-Baltistan and the Southern regions of China would boost up after the construction of Kashgar-Gwadar economic corridor. Pakistan and China have already signed a Memorandum of Understanding in this regard few days ago, it was learnt on Wednesday.

Deputy Director, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), Gilgit, Sabz Ali Khan when contacted said that Kashgar-Gwadar economic corridor was going to change the fortune of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan in near future. He said that TDAP would make efforts towards motivating people to earn money through exporting different items. An official at TDAP’s Karachi office said that China was focusing on boosting trade with its neighbouring countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Kyrgyzstan etc, for which it had planned to make Kashgar city an economical hub within seven years.

Raheel Rao, Focal Person, ‘China Focus Cell’, while talking to Business Recorder, said that TDAP’s Director General Rabia Javeeria was concentrating on China as the country had an enormous trade potential. He said that the China Cell was established on the instructions of the Director General and it would monitor trade and economic activities between the two countries besides exploring new trade avenues in China.

He further said that Kashgar-Gwadar economic corridor would play a key role in boosting tourism sector of Gilgit-Baltistan, generating huge job opportunities for the local people. Sabz Ali Khan said that G-B was known for its fruit and vegetable verities, which were also in great demand in China. “It would be a great opportunity for the G-B businesspeople to earn valuable income by exporting organic products to China,” he added.

He further said that most people in G-B were engaged in conventional farming due to lack of awareness about modern techniques. The local people could generate good revenue if the farming system in the region was developed, he added. To a query, he said that transportation system in G-B was badly affected after the land sliding incident in Ata Abad, which turned the Hunza River into a huge artificial lake submerging roads and villages. Now the reconstruction work of roads had almost completed and the imports and exports activities through Sost border had resumed, he added.