May 11, 2003	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 8, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, May 10: A 3-day meeting of the Pakistan Development Forum (PDF) will begin on Monday to take stock of the reform process and development priorities of the government.

Speaking at a news conference, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Saturday that the meeting of the PDF, formerly known as Aid-to-Pakistan Consortium, would not be a pledging session.

The forum, to be attended by 150 delegates from home and abroad including representatives of international finance institutions and UN Assistant Secretary-General Dr Hafeez Pasha, would discuss Pakistan’s poverty reduction strategy in the light of a paper to be presented by the government.

Other topics to be discussed include development strategies of the provinces, City Government System in the provincial capitals and water resources management.

The finance minister pointed out that the country had achieved macro economic stability, which played an important part in poverty reduction. “Our effort has been to lay equal emphasis on social sector besides raising per capita income.”

Giving an overview of the country’s present economic conditions, Mr Aziz said that fiscal deficit remained 3.3 per cent during the first nine months of the current financial year.

The current account surplus, he pointed out, was up by $4.3 billion while foreign exchange reserves stood at $10.5 billion, giving the nation a strength to overcome shocks of adverse international developments. “Then the inflation is down by 3.5 per cent and remittances by overseas Pakistanis have touched $3.2 billion mark.”

Exports, he said, were up by 20 per cent and taxation revenue by 15 per cent during the first nine months of 2002-03.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), he said, had reached to over $640 million during July-February 2002-2003 and expected to reach little over $1 billion by the end of the current financial year.

Interest rates, he said, were falling and the weighted average lending rates was down from 14 per cent in June 2001 to 9.36 per cent in February 2003. “This means the cost of capital is declining and it is good for investment,” he added.

The private sector credit was up by 53 per cent and stock market had remained buoyant during July-April 2003.

Pakistan’s economy, Mr Aziz said, was more stable, economic policies were transparent and predictable. Moreover, he said, the confidence of the private sector had been restored to a larger extent and the overseas Pakistanis were bringing their capital into the country.