Pakistan looks to the future: CGTN exclusive interview with energy minister

CGTN Europe

Pakistan is aiming to revive its economy after years in the doldrums.   The country’s minister of energy believes now is the time to improve the financial situation.   Our correspondent Ray Addison reports.   #Pakistan  #Energy  #Economy

Transcript

00:00Well, Minister, thanks very much for joining us. Now, you're currently at the World Investment

00:04Conference. What are your goals and objectives there? I think our most important goal is to

00:11get investment for Pakistan. I think Pakistan is on its way to prosperity. Our GDP is now growing.

00:20Our inflation is down. Our policy rate is down. So our economy is just about ready to unleash again.

00:29And in order for us to do that, we can do it in the traditional way or we can do it in the

00:34more intelligent way. And we are at this investment conference to do it in the more intelligent way,

00:40in the smart way. And by smart way, what I mean to say is that we need to plug into new value chains.

00:48And in order for us to plug into new value chains, we need to have new ideas. We need to have new

00:55products. We need to have new business models. We need to have partners who are plugged all over

01:01the world. So we are now seeking for a bunch of platforms or industrial areas. We're seeking

01:08investments with people who are leaders, trailblazers in each of those sectors. So

01:14that's the primary objective of coming here. We just came back from COP29. What were your

01:20main takeaways as a representative of a country that is so heavily impacted by climate change?

01:27I think climate change is a reality. It's affecting our lives. Pakistan, if you try to

01:35locate Pakistan on a heat map, you won't even find Pakistan. What I mean to say by that is that

01:41Pakistan has near close to zero carbon footprint. But Pakistan lies as a valley at the foothill of

01:47the Himalayas. So with a slight change in climate and the glacier flow rates, Pakistan can be

01:54devastated. Our entire canal system, our entire barrage system, our food security, everything

02:01gets destroyed and is susceptible to climate change. So while we are not contributing

02:08carbon or any emissions, we are highly susceptible to any kind of climatic change. For the sake of

02:15our own children, we need to make sure that not only we do things in a responsible way, but we

02:21also champion across the world a very responsible approach towards the climate so that our children

02:29can have their food security and we can grow in a sustainable manner. What can you tell us

02:34about the partnership between Pakistan and China on energy? I think it's fantastic. Our

02:41partnership with China, not just in energy, historically we've done a lot of work in energy,

02:48but we've also done work in the way of infrastructure. We've also done a lot of work

02:53in the way of ports. So if you look at the portfolio of Chinese investments in Pakistan,

02:58you would see that China has been the strategic partner that we've had. And they have invested

03:05in the entire infrastructure of Pakistan. And right now, in the second phase of CPAC,

03:11which is a part of Belt and Road Initiative, what we are now trying to do is build the industrial

03:17parks and business enterprises, which are going to ride on this, on the infrastructure that has

03:23been built. So it's a great strategic partner. So is Saudi Arabia. And so are a number of other

03:31countries, Azerbaijan, United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, China, and some of our

03:37Western allies. They're all investing. But I think the support that we've gotten from China

03:42in the way of building the infrastructure, which is essential for anything to ride on it,

03:47is remarkable. And we are indebted for that and very grateful for that.

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