Pakistani Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said the government has taken steps to transform the country into a trade, transit and transshipment hub for the Middle East.

According to Radio Pakistan, a a forum held during the 2023 Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in Beijing, China, Kakar said that the country has already operationalized its deep seaport of Gwadar. He said the space has been updated with new facilities to handle cargo ships facilitating transshipment to other nations in the region, specifically landlocked countries. Kakar added that a new airport will be opened in Gwadar, in additional attempt to turn the city into a regional trade hub.

Kakar explained that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a 3,000-km infrastructure project between the two countries, and one of the flagship programs of China's massive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is expected to enter its next phase, where it will be transformed into a “corridor of growth” linking the nations' economies and providing more job/trade opportunities to the people of both countries.

The Prime Minister said CPEC would develop a "corridor of livelihood," with dividends for the common people as well as a "corridor of innovation," that will see China and Pakistan work together to help each other make advancements in the fields of IT, science and technology. CPEC will also create a green corridor to ensure food security, environmental protection and agricultural modernization.