The Pakistan Foreign Office on Friday reiterated that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a bilateral economic project and has no military dimensions, Radio Pakistan reported on Friday.
In a meeting with journalists in Islamabad, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mohammad Faisal shot down allegations by a US media report that claimed the project had military dimensions to it.
He added that CPEC has helped Pakistan improve its economy, especially in the energy and infrastructure sectors.
CPEC - a pilot project of the Belt and Road Initiative – had been launched four years ago with an initial size of the $46 billion. Over a period, the size grew to $50 billion, although the actual projects that have reached construction stage are $19 billion, according to Chinese estimates.
The B&R Initiative has made headlines across South Asia, where leaders ponder the future of regional economic integration in a bid to pursue the maximisation of their local interests. Some countries in the region have thus witnessed frequent high-level bilateral exchanges.
