GILGIT: President Mamnoon Hussain on Friday asked youth of GilgitBaltistan to convert their cultural heritage into educational opportunities which came from the great Silk Route in the past and now offered by the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Addressing the 8th convocation of the Karakoram International University in his capacity as its chancellor in Gilgit on Friday, he said CPEC would put the entire region on path of development. He added that GB and Balochistan would get maximum benefit from CPEC.

Mr Hussain said development budget of GB had been enhanced from Rs8 billion to Rs18 billion, which would help alleviate poverty in the area He appreciated the establishment of CPEC Cell in the university for conducting research on CPEC and to take full advantage of the mega project. He stated that early and timely implementation of the projects under CPEC was the top priority of the government.

He termed the establishment of cell as a positive development that wouldhelp explore the different dimensions of the remarkable project and reap the maximum benefits from the opportunities offered by related projects keeping in view the local conditions.

The president emphasised that CPEC would not only bring economic prosperity in the region but would also open up new academic avenues for the youth.

He urged the university, especially its CPEC Cell, to build international contacts so that effective strategy could be made to take maximum advantage from the emerging opportunities.Mamnoon Hussain hoped that KIU would perform valuable services in this sector, saying that if the said cell introduced some new courses to make CPEC studies more effective and comprehensive then its utilisation would not remain confined to this university only.

He also directed the administration to keep him updated about the activities of the cell so that he could provide his continuous feedback.

He later gave away degrees and gold medals to the graduates who secured prominent positions.-Correspondent