ISLAMABAD, Dec 18: Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, federal minister for privatisation and investment, has said that increasing regional trade blocs in the globalization process requires the ECO member states to bring their private sector in the forefront to translate relations into strong economic bonds.

Dr Shaikh was speaking on the inauguration of an ECO seminar organized by the European Cultural Investment Trade Institute here on Saturday.

He said the ECO had the potential to emerge as a strong regional trade bloc through aggressive domestic policies which were being witnessed in the member countries.

The members must increase their ability of upgrading communication links, networks, trade relations etc., to mobilize corporate sector for meaningful regional cooperation, he added. He expressed his satisfaction over the increasing trade with Afghanistan which, he said, had increased to $1 billion.

Pakistan had opened all opportunities for investment and trade without any discrimination among local and foreign investors by providing a level-playing field, improving macro-economic indicators through consistency and continuity of economic, investment and trade policies and also by making the tax system simple. There was a gradual increase of foreign investment in Pakistan, which had touched the figure of $1 billion last year, he said.

Representatives of the ECO member states Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus presented their papers.

Earlier, he opened an exhibition and visited various stalls of the ECO member states.

Talking to media persons, Dr Hafeez Shaikh said the cabinet committee on privatisation would meet soon to finalize the offer price of the Kot Adu Power Company (KAPCO) shares for initial public offering (IPO) of 20 per cent shares to the general public.