Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Thursday that regional connectivity was not optional, terming it essential for growth and shared progress.
“Connectivity is not optional. It is essential for stability, growth and shared progress. Regional cooperation directly impacts the lives of millions of our people,” he said while addressing the Regional Transport Ministers’ Conference in Islamabad.
Transport Ministers from Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives among others are participating in the conference. In addition, delegates from the Asian Development Bank, Economic Cooperation Organisation, International Road Transport Union, and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific are also attending.
In his remarks, Dar said that many countries in the region were already investing in forward-looking connectivity projects. “Central Asia is emerging as a true trans Eurasian land bridge,” he said.
He noted that oil and gas pipelines laid down across deserts and mountains linked markets while expanding road and rail networks demonstrated a collective commitment.
“These projects are not just infrastructure, they create shared opportunities. We can and must achieve more by aligning our efforts and working together. The whole is indeed greater than the sum of its parts.”
He further said that Pakistan’s strategic location connecting South Asia with Central Asia, the Middle East and China made it a “natural hub for regional connectivity”.
“Our vision is to build seamless linkages through road, rail, air, maritime, energy and digital corridors — turning geography into an opportunity,” he said.
“No project better symbolises Pakistan’s vision of win-win cooperation through connectivity than the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),” he said, adding that the project was now widely recognised as a “catalyst for energy infrastructure development, transport connectivity and enhanced trade across the whole of South and Central Asia”.
More to follow