ISLAMABAD: (Parliament Times) CPEC would remain an important driver for economic policies environment
for the future years. The project is set to make major contributions to
Pakistan’s economy by connecting the distant production hubs to the
country’s ports. Mr. Bruno Macaes, Senior Advisor at Flint Global and a
former Europe Minister of Portugal, explored various dynamics of BRI
relating to the economic, commerce and geo-political aspects of this grand
project, during his lecture at COMSATS Secretariat Islamabad. The author
of ‘The Dawn of Eurasia: On the Trail of the New World Order’, Mr. Macaes
is the author of several books on international affairs.
The lecture was jointly organized by the Commission on Science and
Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS) and
Global Think Tank Network (GTTN) under a Distinguished Guest Lecture
Series. The lecture was attended by a number of officials from academia,
COMSATS Secretariat and GTTN, including Dr. S. M. Junaid Zaidi,
Executive Director COMSATS; Mr. Owais Ahmad Ghani, Former Governor
for Balochistan & KPK; Dr. Shoaib Suddle, Pakistan’s Former Federal Tax
Ombudsman; and Dr. Akram Sheikh, Chairman of the Board – GTTN and
former Federal Minister/Deputy Chairman Planning Commission of
Pakistan.
In his lecture, Mr. Macaes explored various dynamics of BRI and
delineating that the project is set to form new value chains involving major
parts of Asia. BRI, it was noted, is going to improve China’s access to world
markets, create more complex value chains and achieve international
standards by creating and retaining technological advantage. The
ambitious project is going to be major influencer of geo political scenario of
the world by establishing a global network of influence.
The Q&A session resulted in discussions on creation of more value chains
and systems; role of Europe in BRI, risks related to the project, technology
absorption and adaptation, geopolitical changes, foreign policy,
internationalization of Chinese currency, and terms of technology transfer.
The environmental aspects of BRI were also touched upon. CPEC, it was
observed, has become a major framework for economic policies
environment for future years.
Dr. Zaidi concluded the event with a note of appreciation for the speaker
and hoped to work out new projects and programmes under the said
collaboration that would be mutually beneficial for BRI and COMSATS’
member states.