ISLAMABAD: Bahram Zahid, a vibrant 21-year-old from the Gwadar district of Balochistan, is inquisitive about the opportunities the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) offers for the people of his province so they can enjoy its perks and make their lives better.
He has been witnessing the development of Gwadar under CPEC for years and is currently visiting Islamabad to meet Chinese officials and visit Chinese companies operating in Pakistan to know more about the future of Gwadar and the cooperation between Pakistan and China in various projects.
“I met many Chinese and I got the impression that they are very serious about CPEC and I am sure that it will be implemented to its full potential one day, so the main thing for us is that we should participate in it as much as we can to share the development,” he told Xinhua.
As a student at the University of Gwadar, Zahid is being accompanied by 11 other students studying in different disciplines at the campus, and most of them are visiting the capital city for the first time.
In a conversation with Xinhua, the students said they had many questions about CPEC and the visit is an eye-opening experience for them as they learned many things about Chinese investments and the good work the Chinese companies are doing in Pakistan.
The students said due to a lack of information in Gwadar, they had missed many good opportunities, but now they got a clear picture of the opportunities they can have.
“I have heard about Chinese government scholarships. Now I have a clear idea about the application process,” Shahnaz Shafi Muhammad, a 22-year-old student of business administration, told Xinhua.
The students also watched a documentary about the development of Shenzhen. They showed a resolve that they will work hard for the development of Gwadar.
Mustafa Hyder Sayed, executive director of the Islamabad-based think-tank Pakistan-China Institute, told Xinhua the students are the real stakeholders of the development because they are the future of Gwadar and the future of Pakistan-China friendship.
“The students have a lot of hope and confidence in the future of themselves and Gwadar, and that is very inspiring for me,” Sayed said.
He said that his institute coordinated the visit and also shortlisted the students for the visit, adding that in the next phase more students will visit the capital.
Mujahid Hussain, head of the Department of Commerce at the University of Gwadar, who is accompanying the students on the visit, said CPEC is “bringing a lot of positive changes in Gwadar.”
“The prospects of a bright future for Gwadar are clear as the sky. The value of CPEC has increased and many development programs have been initiated,” he noted.
