Iran keen to join China-Pakistan economic corridor

Iran expressed desire on Thursday to become part of the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), that links western China with Gwadar deep-sea port in Balochistan and runs through Pakistanoccupied Kashmir.

This was conveyed by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif here on the sidelines of the 71st UN General Assembly session.

“President Rouhani lauded the vision of the Prime Minister for translating CPEC into reality and expressed his desire to be part of the CPEC,“ a statement by Sharif 's office said. It said that connectivity projects were recognised by both Pakistan and Iran as vital to the progress of the region.

“In particular, the two leaders reiterated the complementarity between Gwadar and Chabahar sea ports that could boost regional trade exponentially in the decades ahead,“ it said.

India has concerns over the $46 billion CPEC being laid through PoK.

He apprised President Rouhani of alleged Indian brutalities in Kashmir, particularly in the past two months.Sharif shared the latest situation in Kashmir, which continues to remain tense in the wake of the uprising that has surfaced in response to Indi an barbaric acts in the Valley .

Opportunities for bilateral cooperation in the field of energy , especially oil, gas and electricity were discussed.The two sides noted that progress on Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline and electricity import from Iran would help overcome Pakistan's energy shortages in the coming years.

(TOI)