July 23, 2006	Sunday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 26, 1427

ISLAMABAD, July 22: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday said the policy of privatisation, liberalisation and de-regulation has opened new vistas of opportunities for local and foreign investors and the business community should take advantage of the initiatives.

Talking to a delegation of Pakistan Business Council (PBC), which called on him at the Prime Minister House, he said that the investors, while taking advantage of these policies could expand their businesses, improve the productivity and competitiveness of their products in global terms.

The prime minister welcomed the formation of the council and hoped that it would develop itself into a credible outfit to impact the government policies in a positive manner to help the industrial sector grow.

He said that the macro-economic stability, continuity and consistency of policies had restored the confidence of investors and helped the business flourish.

Mr Aziz said these policies had made Pakistan an investment friendly place and during the last financial year a record foreign direct investment (FDI) of $3.7 billion was received.

He said the government was providing a level-playing field to local and foreign investors, who had shown keen interest in starting joint ventures with their Pakistani counterparts. He urged the Pakistani businessmen to join hands with foreign investors for expansion of businesses, import substitution and enhancement of exports.

The prime minister said that transparency was the hallmark of the government policies and all decisions were made in national interest, which had enhanced the credibility and stature of the government in the eyes of the international community.

The privatisation process is on track and the government will continue to pursue the privatisation agenda, he added.

Giving an overview of the economy, the prime minister said the structural reform agenda of the government was one of the most broad-based comprehensive reform agenda ever undertaken by any government.

He said that the country was able to achieve 6.4 per cent growth rate during the last financial year despite the challenge caused by the surge in oil prices in the international market and the damages caused by the earthquake.

The magnitude of the growth, which Pakistan has achieved in last four years in a row, has positioned Pakistan as one of the fastest growing economies of Asia, the prime minister said.

He said that the size of the economy had doubled during the last about seven years and now it was $134 billion, which was an achievement. He said the government was expecting better growth this year due to better performance in agricultural sector and the enabling climate provided to the industry.

Mr Aziz said while the government was providing a facilitating and enabling environment to the private sector, the business community should study the best international practices and prepare themselves to face the challenges of globalisation as well as to capture the opportunities offered by it and added: “You should learn to ride the tidal wave.”

Razak Dawood, the head of the delegation, said that as the size of economy was growing fast there was a need of an organisation to provide positive input to the government policies.

He said that the PBC would act as a think-tank to submit proposals to the government to further develop the economy. He said the council would be giving tactical advice to the government. —APP