Nikkei Asian Review quotes South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Claude Rakisits on how the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor infrastructure initiative could have positive results for Afghanistan, in addition to the project’s primary state stakeholders:
Claude Rakisits, senior fellow at the South Asia Center of U.S. think tank the Atlantic Council, said the project could be good for Afghanistan, too. “If peace eventually does come to Afghanistan, CPEC will help that country integrate more closely economically with Pakistan and Iran,” he said. “And, of course, it will provide direct access to western China and its hinterland … a vast and fast-growing region in need of development.”
Added Rakisits, “Needless to say, with better roads and railroads, the huge Pakistan market will be easier to access for foreign investors.”