Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced Pakistan joining of Ashgabat Agreement and Lapis Lazuli Corridor in a two-day Global Sustainable Transport Conference in the Turkmen capital.
“I hope the agreement will prove milestone in achieving the dream of peaceful co existence through integration of economies, markets and cultures in South Asia, Central Asia and beyond,” PM said.
The Ashgabat agreement is a transport agreement between Oman, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and seeks to create an international transport and transit corridor. The objective of the agreement is to facilitate the transport of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.
The Lapis Lazuli Corridor seeks to foster transit and trade cooperation between Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey by reducing barriers facing transit trade.
“I am positive, the Ashgabat Agreement, will be beneficial not only to Pakistan but also to the entire Central Asian and South Asian region and beyond.” PM expressed hope.
He further explained that through integration of economies, markets and, more importantly cultures, which provide the doorway for peaceful co-existence he have asked his relevant government ministers to approach the depository countries for an early start of negotiations in this behalf.
Referring to China’s one-belt one-road initiative as a “game-changer”, the PM said: “It aims to create the world’s largest platform to integrate development of various regions in the Eurasian land mass.”
He said the most promising element of this initiative is the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.
