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Former Australian PM Bob Hawke & Wife meet with Shaukat Aziz
ISLAMABAD,
Prime Minister of Pakistan Shaukat Aziz said the rapidly growing foreign
investments are a testimony of the confidence of the international community in
the success of Pakistan's reform agenda and the government will ensure
consistency and continuity of these policies to maintain the momentum of growth
and investments. He was talking to Bob Hawke, former Prime Minister of Australia
who called on him in Islamabad on the morning of 7th March.
The Prime Minister Aziz said Pakistan's economy was experiencing high growth,
high demand, growing middle class and expanding markets and offers tremendous
opportunities for investments.
"This year we are expecting over $ 5 billion foreign investment", he added.
The Prime Minister said that the traditional reservoir of good relations between
Pakistan and Australia needs to be utilized to enhance cooperation between the
two countries and their private sectors in various fields including economy,
trade and investment, mining, agriculture, agribusiness, livestock, diary
development and energy.
Giving an overview of the economy the Prime Minister said the underlining
philosophy behind "our reform agenda is ensuring growth with dignity and
development with equity."
PM of Pakistan said Pakistan has recovered from a low investment, low growth
syndrome and its economy has grown at 6-8% per annum during the last four years
and over 7% in the last three years, thus positioning itself as one of the
fastest growing economies of the Asian region.
"All social indicators are moving up and 10-15 million people have been brought
out of poverty during the last seven years", he added.
Emphasizing the need for promoting interfaith, inter civilization, inter
cultural harmony, the Prime Minister said the gap between people belonging to
different faiths is widening and the world needs to work harder and make
dedicated efforts to bridge this gap.
"The more walls we create, the more challenging it will be for future
generations. A greater understanding between people belonging to different
faiths will make the world a better place to live", said the Prime Minister
Talking of environment issues, the Prime Minister said environment and
development are the most critical issues of our times.
The biggest challenge facing mankind today is to build a world where the goals
of environmental conservation and economic development do not conflict with each
other, but exist in perfect harmony and accord, he added.
He said the global warning and depletion of ozone layer pose a problem, which is
overwhelming in scope and impact.
The Prime Minister of Pakistan said the government is paying special attention
to this aspect and "we are working to maintain a balance between sustainable
environment and development."
Bob Hawke said the economic stability and high growth achieved by Pakistan makes
it an attractive place for investments and he is working on plans to enter into
joint ventures with Pakistani companies in a number of areas particularly power
and the livestock sector. He appreciated the role played by Pakistan for peace
and stability.
