June 08, 2008	Sunday	Jamadi-us-Sani 03, 1429

KARACHI, June 7: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has assured a leading Japanese car assembler of a long-term policy aimed at attracting new investment and opening new job avenues in the auto sector.

In a meeting with managing director and chief executive officer of Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMCL) Kenichi Ayukawa last week, the prime minister said he wanted the local auto industry to compete with the counterparts in the neighbouring countries in future after giving a stable policy to the local industry.

According to the official spokesman of PSMCL, Shafiq Ahmed Shaikh, who was also present in the meeting, Mr. Gilani said that his government was with the local industry and during the PPP government’s tenure the local industry will definitely grow.

He asked Mr. Ayukawa to make more investment in capacity expansion, expand their dealers’ network countrywide and try to compete with the global market.

According to the Pak Suzuki spokesman, the prime minister said that the previous government’s economic policies had created problems for the local industries but this government would support and work with the industries.

The PM said that the people had been saying that the current economic situation was highly volatile and there was a lingering crisis. He assured the PSMCL managing director that the situation would improve and the economy would be back on the right track in the next few days.

Mr. Shafiq said that the company’s MD has assured the prime minister that the local industry was with the new government and would make investment so that the economic development could take place in the country.

He said that the company had already invested over Rs2 billion in plant capacity expansion in the last one and a half years.