Maritime peace vital for blue economy: Alvi

ISLAMABAD – President Dr Arif Alvi on Saturday called for maritime stability and regional peace to let the blue economy prosper.

“Global peace rather than confrontation should be our future”, said the President while addressing the inaugural session of 9th International Maritime Conference in Karachi. The President said that Pakistan is taking effective steps on blue economy for improved livelihoods while preserving the health of the ocean ecosystem.

He expressed satisfaction that Pakistan is heading towards a sustainable blue economy by giving importance to food security related to oceans. He further said for blue economy to thrive, the world needs to bring an end to irresponsible exploitation of oceans.

The President said Pakistan is becoming a geo-economic hub with the Belt and Road Initiative and China Pakistan Economic Corridor project.

He said Pakistan is the shortest route for the Central Asian States and China to import and export their goods through Gwadar.

In his twitter handle on Friday, President Alvi has said that Pakistan is again showing its commitment to global cooperation as Pakistan Navy organizes multinational AMAN Exercise 2021.

Dr. Arif Alvi said the naval exercise, being participated by over 42 naval forces, is in line with Pakistan’s vision for regional peace and stability.

In his address, Naval Chief Admiral Amjad Khan Niazi said that Pakistan’s Indus Delta region offers huge oil and gas reserves.

He said that a joint expedition to explore hydrocarbon resources was conducted by Pakistan Navy’s Hydrographical Department and China Geological Survey in 2019. He said that the survey revealed ‘highly promising’ picture of Pakistan’s exclusive economic zones with presence of huge reservoirs of oil and gas in the Indus Delta region. “Third survey is expected this year, which is likely to pave the way for drilling and subsequent extraction of the hydrocarbons,” he said.

“Seas have gained renewed focus owing to being huge reservoirs of food, minerals and hydrocarbons. This has resulted in what I called the trinity of abuse, exploitation and greed putting seas into unsustainable ecosystem impacting living resources, excessive generation of CO2 at land has been steadily toxifying the seas, which if not rested might make plenty of fish extinct,” the Naval Chief said.

“Pakistan coastal areas are incredibly rich in biodiversity and productivity. Our Continental shelf has enormous reservoirs of magnesium, cobalt and nickel while it also contains tremendous amounts of gas hydrates,” Admiral Niazi added.

Highlighting the CPEC, the Naval Chief said that CPEC being the pilot project of the Belt and Road Initiative has all the markers of being a stimulant for regional economic transformation.