Chinese Consul General Li Bijian, who is looking after the consular areas of Balochistan and Sindh, has said that security provision is prerequisite to attract foreign investment to Gwadar where megaprojects are under construction under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Umbrella to help the local people by providing new opportunities of employment, business, development and civic amenities. He was talking to local news agency.
He praised the security conditions and efforts of the government and the establishment of Pakistan. He emphasized that Investors give more importance to Security, the smooth operation of the business, recovering of the investment, and making profits.
He further said that Investment in the region would bring development and jobs for local population along with improvement in civic facilities. With industries, locals will increase their incomes and would have better services. He mentioned that the second phase of CPEC projects will focus more on industrial and agricultural cooperation between our two countries. These projects will inject impetus in the development of the special economic zones (SEZs), including Dhabeje SEZ in Sindh and the Free Zone in Gwadar, along with the development of the farmlands.
Talking about measures to develop fisheries industry in the region, He said that Pakistan has a diverse blue economy. However, local fishermen have to enhance their fishing capacity to help export seafood. So, for attracting investors to develop cold storage and processing plants, the fishermen need to develop big associations and a net huge quantity of seafood which could be exported. Right now, the fishermen do not have enough seafood that could be exported,” he maintained.
He said that fishermen need bigger boats and ships and employ modern fishing tools. Moreover, he said the locals need to go in the deep sea for fishing too as, on seashores, the fishing is not profitable. The consul general said that China has been providing assistance to the fisherman community in Gwadar in the form of provision of engines, solar panels and fishing nets, etc. to the local fishermen to help increase their fishing capacity. He emphasized on the need to build processing Cold Chain and coaching industries to better store the seafood.
He reiterated that Chinese investors are interested in investing in the fishing sector in Pakistan. However, It is important to offer incentives to investors like the tax rebate or tax-free option for some period of years.
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