During the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) between Pakistan and China, an agreement on the participation of third parties in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is likely to be signed.

This was revealed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a recent meeting called to review the progress on CPEC projects under the chairmanship of the Caretaker Minister for Planning, Development and Special Measures Sami Saeed.

In June last year, the Ministry of External Affairs had banned announcements regarding the involvement of third parties in CPEC projects, saying that both Pakistan and China had already decided to avoid public announcements in this regard.

The letter written by the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China mentioned that the involvement of third parties in CPEC, which clarified that the CPEC Joint Cooperation Committee (JWG) has discussed potential third parties in CPEC, mandated the Joint Working Group on International Cooperation and Coordination (JWG-ICC) on all accession-related matters.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had made it clear that as per the consensus policy between Pakistan and China in the first and second JWG meetings, the decision regarding the participation of third parties will be taken by consensus and mutual consultation.

According to sources, on September 22, 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while briefing the meeting regarding the progress made by JWG on international cooperation and coordination, said that this group was established in the year 2018 with the main objective of CPEC. It was to promote a favorable international environment to facilitate growth and development.

The first meeting of the group was held in April 2019 and three more meetings have been convened since then. The fourth meeting is scheduled for this year, but China has not yet confirmed a specific date.

In the meeting, the Ministry further informed that the procedure for participation of third parties in CPEC and TORs were decided through comprehensive inter-ministerial consultation, while this procedure was submitted to the Ministry of Planning for review and opinion.

The Caretaker Planning Minister expressed satisfaction over the progress achieved by the JWG and reiterated the importance of finalizing the procedure for approval of the third phase of CPEC projects.

He directed that these issues be dealt with as soon as possible so that it can be signed during the upcoming Belt and Road Forum.