December 19, 2006	Tuesday	Ziqa'ad 27, 1427

ISLAMABAD, Dec 18: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Monday that a two-day Investment Conference of Overseas Pakistanis will be held in Islamabad on March 5 and 6 to encourage overseas Pakistanis to invest in Pakistan and participate in the economic development of the country.

Presiding over a high-level meeting at the PM's House, Shaukat Aziz said that the investment conference is being held in Pakistan because now there is a sizeable and significant community of overseas Pakistanis who are in a position to invest in Pakistan.

The overseas Pakistanis, he said, are encouraged to invest in the country because it offers attractive investment climate as reflected by the record Foreign Direct Investment of $3.8 billion last year.

Another factor that has evinced the interest of overseas Pakistanis is that Pakistan offers level playing field to both Pakistani and foreign investors without discrimination, he added.

“It is heartening to see the keenness of the overseas Pakistanis to invest in their country. It will also encourage foreign investors to follow the suit,” he said and added that it is an established pattern that foreign investors find it easier to invest in a foreign country if its overseas community is already investing there.

The Prime Minister said that overseas Pakistanis generously remit their earnings to Pakistan and added that he had no doubt that they would come forward to benefit from the growing investment opportunities in Pakistan.

“The government plans to focus on medium and large-scale investors because it is more feasible for small investors to invest through fund managers,” he said and emphasized the need for ensuring maximum participation of private sector from Pakistan in the conference to enable its interaction with overseas investors.

The Prime Minister stressed the need for close collaboration and coordination between the Overseas Pakistanis Division, Foreign Office, and the Board of Investment to make the conference a success.

Earlier, the Federal Minister for Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis made a detailed presentation on the Overseas Pakistanis Investment Conference and briefed the Prime Minister about the objectives and strategy of the conference to attract investors from overseas Pakistanis community.

In his presentation, he updated the Prime Minister that the overseas Pakistanis who are serious investors are being invited in the conference from the US, the UK, Europe, Middle East and Far Eastern region.

He said so far in a short period 150 participants from 26 countries have shown their keenness to participate in the conference. He also said steps would be taken to ensure that investment done by the overseas Pakistanis is secure and profitable.