ISLAMABAD, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been promoting global economic growth, connectivity, and environmental preservation for a more sustainable world, said Pakistani experts.

Over the past decade, the BRI has brought tremendous socio-economic benefits to more than 150 participating countries and regions, improving the lives of local people and infrastructure and offering opportunities for further growth in the green sector, the experts said on Thursday during a seminar on green BRI organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), an Islamabad-based think tank.

Speaking on the occasion, Mushahid Hussain Syed, chairperson of the Pakistani Senate's Defense Committee, said that the 10 years of BRI signifies a decade of transformative global cooperation and development.

Under the visionary leadership, China remains committed to the principles of building, planning, learning, and benefiting together, seeking to foster open and equitable growth on a global scale, he said.

The senator said that China has invested around 1 trillion U.S. dollars in over 3,000 projects under the BRI, adding that Pakistan received over 25 billion U.S. dollars in direct investment under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of the BRI.

Launched in 2013, CPEC is a corridor linking the Gwadar port in southwestern Pakistan with Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport and industrial cooperation.

In the next phase, Syed said BRI participating countries, including Pakistan, are being provided with more opportunities and investments in green development, giving further impetus to global green growth and demonstrating China's robust commitment to international cooperation.

Stressing the imperative of just energy transition, Abid Qaiyum Suleri, SDPI's executive director, said there is a need for a reduction in reliance on fossil fuels, saying China has not only helped Pakistan overcome the severe energy crisis but also assisted in promoting green development.

Projects such as the Suki Kinari Hydropower project and Karot Hydropower project under CPEC are producing clean and green energy, he said, urging exploration and incorporation of green metals through CPEC to propel sustainable development in the country.

Shazia Ghani, team lead at the Prime Minister's Office's CPEC and Special Initiatives Cell, said that Pakistan should focus on innovative financing and investment mechanisms that can support green projects under CPEC, encouraging the private sector's participation and aligning with international green funding benchmarks.

Proposing a shift in the currency of finance from the U.S. dollar to the Chinese currency renminbi, Ghani said that Pakistan needs to explore the Chinese capital market, adding that the consideration of green bonds would further strengthen collaboration with China under the BRI.