Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said that a railway project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will boost the country's exports by improving connectivity.

"With the implementation of the project, Pakistani seaports will be better connected with land routes and the country's export goods would be able to reach international markets in a timely manner, helping Pakistan to earn valuable foreign exchange," Xinhua news agency quoted Khan as saying said in a review meeting on the Main Line-1 (ML-1) railway project here on Monday.

Expressing satisfaction over the progress made so far on the project, the Prime Minister said that the ML-1 project would establish a modern communication infrastructure of international standard and create job opportunities as well as new prospects for Pakistan's industry.

He added that the project will start a new chapter to the Pakistan-China fraternal relations.

The CPEC is a flagship $62 billion project of Chinese President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative that aims to connect Asia, Africa and Europe through a vast network of highways, rail lines and sea lanes.

The multi-billion-dollar corridor connects the Chinese city of Kashgar with Pakistan's Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea.

Experts from diverse fields on Monday noted that the second phase of the CPEC is set to boost Pak-China cooperation in agriculture and initiate an era of industrialization through establishment of Special Economic Zones.

They spoke here at the 6th China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Media Forum. The forum was jointly organized by the Pakistan-China Institute (PCI) and China Economic Net (CEN) in cooperation with the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Pakistan. It is conducted as an annual event in Beijing and Islamabad in alternate years. Due to COVID-19, this year’s forum was held virtually and was themed “Post-epidemic China-Pakistan Media Cooperation”.

The forum conducted discussions on topics including opportunities for digital media, media as an engine for the high-quality development of the CPEC and China-Pakistan media cooperation. It was moderated by an anchor of the China Economic Net. Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani was the chief guest. The forum was addressed by Railways minister, deputy chairman Planning Commission plus ambassadors of both countries.

(IANS)