April 2, 2003	Wednesday	Muharram 29, 1424

ISLAMABAD, April 1: Chief Minister of Balochistan Jam Yousaf on Tuesday met Prime Minister’s Adviser on Finance Shaukat aziz and discussed with him progress on ongoing Gwadar sea port and infrastructure development in the coastal region of the province.

They also discussed ways and means to accelerate the pace of development in the province to bring it at par with other parts of Pakistan as this would generate economic activity, create employment and bring prosperity to the remote areas of Balochistan.

Mr Shaukat informed the chief minister that the federal government has provided adequate resources for development projects of Balochistan and continues to encourage development based on outcomes to ensure prosperity to the people of Balochistan.

He also briefed the chief minister about recently held meeting in Kabul of Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Ministerial Commission, which has provided an institutional forum to the two countries to benefit from each others economic expertise.

He said the Gwadar sea port was thoroughly discussed in meeting and the government of Afghanistan evinced keen interest for the use of Gwadar port for its Afghan transit.

The adviser further said that construction of overland gas pipe line linking Central Asia with Pakistan and networking of grid station to energize countries of the region would also go a long way in generating economic activity in the province.