ISLAMABAD, May 13: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that there has been a record cotton crop this year and a bumper wheat crop and an overall growth in the GDP has been over 7 per cent. This, he said, would create both clientele and demand for consumer goods. The prime minister was talking to Chairman Warid Telecom Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan who called on him at the Prime Minister House on Friday.

The prime minister congratulated Mr Nahayan on launching of Al Warid in Pakistan and expressed the hope that he would make more investments in other sectors and benefit from the rapidly growing economy of Pakistan.

Mr Nahayan thanked the government of Pakistan for its support and informed the prime minister that Al Warid would extend its facilities to hitherto inaccessible areas as well as the majority of population which lives in rural areas.

The prime minister said that the telecom sector was the fastest growing sector in Pakistan and presently there were 10 million subscribers with potential that this market would double in next two years.

He said there was a 10 per cent increase in tele-density in Pakistan and participation of world renowned telecom companies would not only increase the quality of service but also create healthy competition and provide world class facilities to Pakistanis.

Aziz said that the government had adopted a very transparent policy and this had been acknowledged widely by investors during his recent visit to ASEAN countries.