By Samia Khalid ISLAMABAD, Feb 02 (INP-WealthPK): One of the most significant achievements of the previous century was the integration of national economies into a global economic system. This process of integration, known as globalisation, has resulted in a significant increase in cross-national trade. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is also an initiative designed to provide new growth prospects through facilitating economic globalisation. Talking about the vitality of CPEC for Pakistan, Adnan Khan, a socioeconomic development specialist in the CPEC Authority, told WealthPK in an interview that this project is the largest foreign investment ever made by a foreign country in Pakistan. No doubt, CPEC is a gift to Pakistan, which is leading the country towards prosperity.” “Pakistan has received seven times more the foreign direct investment (FDI) in the last five years than the 70 years since Pakistan existed on the world map. During the last five years, a total of $16 billion FDI has been implemented, and $9 billion is in advanced stages of implementation,” says Adnan Khan. “With the completion of Gwadar Port, and all other components of the western alignment of CPEC, Pakistan will provide an economically viable route to the Central Asian Republics for transnational trade,” he said, adding that Islamabad has received a formal proposal from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan to further extend the agreement on transit trade. “Some Central Asian countries have also sought a typical allowable number of berths at the Gwadar Port for transit trade.” According to the CPEC official, all of the western alignment's routes pass through rural regions where poverty is rampant, employment is scarce, and industrial growth and infrastructure are lacking. “Therefore, the completion of CPEC projects will bring prosperity to these areas.” While talking about the transit trade potential of the multi-billion-dollar project, the CPEC Authority official revealed that China is constructing a special economic zone in Kashghar region to have the shortest possible route for its international trade with Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. Talking about Afghan transit trade, Adnan Khan told WealthPK that Pakistan processes a total of 700,000 tonnes of cargo for Afghanistan, including 600,000 tonnes at Karachi Port and Port Qasim and the remaining 100,000 at Gwadar Port. He said that due to congestion at Karachi Port and Port Qasim, they have to divert a major part of cargo towards Iran for processing. “However, after the completion of Gwadar Port, Pakistan won’t have to rely on Iran for goods processing.” He also noted that recently an Omani business group visited Pakistan and showed interest in investing in the CPEC projects. The businessmen also expressed interest in providing modern ferry services between the Omani and Pakistani coastal cities, and making investments in Gwadar's industrialisation and the agriculture sector. The CPEC Authority official revealed that Pakistan is expected to generate huge revenue in dollar terms on account of transit trade per annum after the full development of Gwadar Port, which will also create hundreds of thousands of jobs. “Large-scale investments in infrastructure will deliver faster economic growth for Pakistan.”