The strength of the message from the Iranian side in the Maritime conference in Gwadar was surprising and was resonated by Pakistan and China: Andrew Small, Andrew Small is an expert on China Pakistan relations and has written a book titled; ‘’The Pakistan China Axis’’ and has participated in a recent held international conference on Maritime economy at Gwadar port. On the Maritime economy conference, Andrew said that he was surprised, as the Iranians sent a strong message that Gwadar and Chabahar ports are two complementary ports, development of the two complementary ports of Gwadar and Chabahar will bring forth new potential for economic cooperation. Andrew Small said; ‘’the message was put forward by some one that is still on a degree of underline suspicion and that the fact that the two neighbors might end up being rivals’’. He added that he was convinced by the extent of the conversation between the two ports and the ground plans he said that; ‘’it was smart positioning by Iran and Pakistan on this, to try to defuse anything that could turn the geo-economics of the region into geo-political competition’’. He said that the development of the Gwadar Port is in its initial phase, people already see a real step change in the level of Chinese involvement and economic activity in Pakistan. He said that the economic relationship between Pakistan and China in the past was at its weakest for a long time, people were suspicious and they feared that in practice those plans will not turn into a reality as this has been the case in the past.On the role of the US, he said that the US government fully supports development activity in Pakistan and has so far encouraged development projects and investments in the country. He said that India will be concerned about the security cooperation between China and Pakistan. The port’s strategic benefits will accrue to Chinese interests in the region, he said.
