Russia 'allowed' to use Pakistan’s Gwadar Port under CPEC

ASHGABAT - Russia will soon be part of China-funded economic corridor after Pakistan has decided to accord approval to the Russian request for using the Gwadar Port for its exports, reports in media have suggested.

Russia is to follow Iran and Turkmenistan to use the Gwadar Port for trade to have an access to warm waters.

As Russia wants to join the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to reap maximum dividends, Islamabad has moved forward with a green signal allowing Russia to use the Gwadar Port for trade.

Formal agreements will be signed between the two countries in the months to come.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is on a two-day tour to Turkmenistan to discuss matters of mutual importance including TAPI Gas Pipeline Project, said Friday that many countries wanted to join CPEC as half of the world would benefit from the project.

During an informal chat with the journalists, after meeting with Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedow, Nawaz Sharif announced building railways, road and fiber-optic along with Turkmenistan-Pakistan-Afghanistan-India (TAPI) 1,680-kilometer-long gas pipeline to enhance connectivity between South Asia and Central Asia for the benefit of about half of the world population living in this part of the world.

The prime minister, who is hoping for taking a leap forward by extending the benefits of the CPEC to the Central Asian States, welcomed the Russian Federation’s interest in becoming part of the CPEC. The PM maintained that Pakistan would welcome participation of any country in the gigantic project.

He vowed that the CPEC would guarantee the prosperity of Pakistan and assured the people that in about 10 to 15 years time, Pakistan would become an affluent country where the prosperity would become households.