ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national security adviser Dr. Moeed Yusuf invited neighboring states to invest in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) on Tuesday, reported the Associated Press of Pakistan, saying the project was a “game changer” and had the potential of changing the region’s economic geography.
The multibillion-dollar corridor project, which was launched in 2013 and provides a framework for greater regional integration, has mainly focused on infrastructure development and power generation ventures across Pakistan.
It is part of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that aims to link Asia, Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks to ensure sustained economic progress by increasing commerce and trade.
Pakistan has already stepped up its engagements with the Central Asian republics, hoping to tap the region’s $90 billion export market by offering its landlocked economies access to sealanes via the shortest possible route through its southwestern Gwadar port city.
Discussing the significance of the corridor plan, Yusuf said “CPEC was not merely a name for a road or railway system but a far-reaching mega project which would usher in an ‘economic revolution,’” the APP said.
“The security adviser said that special economic zones would promote industrialization in the country and help to attract more investment,” the report added.
He also maintained the China-Pakistan bilateral ties were gaining strength with each passing year.
Last month, the chairman of Pakistan’s CPEC authority Khalid Mansoor said Chinese companies were not satisfied with the performance of the country’s state institutions and their pace of work on the corridor project.
However, Pakistan’s planning minister Asad Umar denied that CPEC had slowed down and maintained the current administration had completed several projects under the China-Pakistan bilateral economic framework.
More recently, Prime Minister Imran Khan said his government would expedite work on CPEC while acknowledging it had either been halted or slowed down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Pakistani national security advisor invites neighbors to invest in CPEC
https://arab.news/yt74m
Pakistani national security advisor invites neighbors to invest in CPEC
- Dr. Moeed Yusuf says special economic zones under the corridor project will promote industrialization in the country
- Pakistan is already negotiating trade deals with Central Asian states in a bid to tap the region’s $90 billion export market
Pakistan finance chief says country leveraging AI to boost tax compliance, revenu
- Aurangzeb says AI-driven systems are cutting leakages, discretionary intervention in tax administration
- He tells a national workshop the government must focus on applied AI, not technology for its own sake
KARACHI: Pakistan is deploying artificial intelligence-driven systems to strengthen tax compliance and enforcement as part of a broader reform push, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Tuesday, adding the country must focus on applied AI solutions.
He was speaking during a panel discussion at the National Artificial Intelligence Workshop in the capital, as Pakistan undertakes sweeping fiscal and structural reforms under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund loan program aimed at stabilizing the economy and boosting revenue collection.
The government has pledged to widen the tax base, curb leakages and digitize administration, with technology playing a central role in its tax transformation agenda.
“AI-enabled systems are playing an increasingly important role in strengthening compliance, enforcement, and decision-making,” Aurangzeb said, according to a statement released by the finance division.
“The Government’s ongoing tax transformation, anchored in reforms to people, processes, and technology, is leveraging AI-led CRM [Customer Relationship Management] systems, AI-led production monitoring, risk-based compliance tools, and faceless customer processes to enhance transparency, reduce leakages, and improve revenue outcomes,” he added.
The finance minister said the focus for a country like Pakistan must remain on applied AI solutions that deliver measurable gains in efficiency, transparency and productivity, rather than on adopting technology for its own sake.
Reducing discretionary human intervention through technology was central to curbing inefficiencies and corruption, he said, adding that AI-led systems had generated tangible fiscal gains that would not have been achievable through manual processes alone.
Aurangzeb said investing in human capital and skills development was essential to enable Pakistan’s youth to participate in higher-value segments of the global technology ecosystem, noting that technologies such as blockchain and data analytics could support productivity-led growth.
He maintained artificial intelligence offered opportunities in revenue mobilization, public service delivery and climate and population management, adding that realizing those gains would require clear policy direction, institutional readiness and a coordinated, whole-of-government approach.
