May 11, 2002	Saturday	Safar 27, 1423

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SHANGHAI, May 10: Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz on Friday gave a positive assessment of Pakistan’s economic prospects in a speech to international bankers, despite this week’s suicide bombing in Karachi.

Speaking at the Asian Development Bank’s annual board of governors meeting here, Shaukat Aziz stressed that despite the impact of Sept 11 and the US-led war in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s economy was on the road to recovery, although foreign investment had been dealt a blow.

“Reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan are just getting started, but already it is having an impact on demand for our products,” he said.

The finance minister said that return to normalcy in Afghanistan would give Pakistan’s economy a boost in coming months as goods were shipped across the border for Afghanistan’s recovery effort.

In addition, Pakistan’s police force was being given greater training in everything from forensics to communication which would improve the security situation, he said.

Shaukat Aziz added that foreign investment could grow as a result of Pakistan’s proximity to the Middle East and Central Asia, but conceded that fraught relations with India were taking their toll.

“In the 21st century issues are resolved through dialogue and discussion not by moving forces to the border. Unfortunately in South Asia that is the case at present,” he said.

He told delegates that the Kashmir issue was costing both India and Pakistan a heavy price but stressed “all things can be solved by dialogue, and the ADB is committed to a peaceful solution.”

The minister said that there was no meeting scheduled with his Indian counterpart Yashwant Sinha, who is also in Shanghai to participate in the ADB meeting.

Pakistan was drawing foreign investment into the fields of energy, oil and gas, mining, agribusiness and IT, where call centres were growing, he added.

Aziz pointed to Pakistan’s large English-speaking workforce and the numbers of trained accountants, bankers and lawyers, saying the government was committed to reducing bureaucracy in a bid to boost foreign investment.

“We want a hassle-free business environment and to reduce red-tapism and corruption,” he said.

Although Sept 11 cost Pakistan three months growth in real terms, Aziz said the economy was rebounding and was expected to reach 3.5 per cent growth by the end of the financial year in July, compared with 2.6 per cent growth a year earlier.

Inflation had also fallen to three per cent over the period compared with 4.2 per cent a year before, he said.

To a question, he described as unfortunate the recent suicide bombing in Karachi and said the government was alive to the need of further strengthening its fight against terrorism. He said he did not believe that a handful of terrorists could discourage the foreign companies from investment in Pakistan.

The government of Pakistan, he said, has provided adequate security to the foreign nationals and was taking more steps to improve the law and order situation.

“We are also working to ensure political stability in the country and revive elected government at the central and the provincial levels. He said the affairs at the districts were already being run by the elected representatives.

SEMINAR: Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that complete democratic process would be revived in Pakistan by October this year to create a better environment for economic progress and attract maximum foreign investment.

He was speaking at a seminar “Pakistan on road to sustained economic recovery,” in Shanghai on Friday.

Shaukat Aziz, who is attending the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank in the Chinese city, said the main thrust of the government’s policies was to reduce poverty, improve macroeconomic balance, enhance economic growth, revive investors’ confidence and to provide good governance.—Agencies