KUWAIT: President Asif Ali Zardari and Kuwait Amir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah agreed on Sunday to set up a high-powered committee, which will meet immediately to identify areas of investment in Pakistan by Kuwaiti entrepreneurs.
The two leaders discussed at length the prospects of enhanced bilateral cooperation in various fields, especially the commercial, manpower and energy sectors, president’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar told APP after the talks.
There was unanimity of views on various issues of regional and international importance, as the two sides exchanged views on the challenges faced by the Ummah, particularly the situation in Afghanistan, the Middle East, fight against terrorism and Pakistan’s role for peace and stability in the region.
About the situation in the Middle East, President Zardari said the use of violence and destruction of assets was counter-productive and it was time that individual and collective capabilities were utilised to bring stability and peace to the region.
He apprised the Kuwaiti leader of the many security and economic challenges faced by Pakistan and the impact of last year’s floods on its economy.
He said Pakistan needed the support of its true friends like Kuwait at this critical juncture to deal with the various problems it faced.
The president praised the role of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development vas-a-vis development projects in Pakistan, including the Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project.
He said the Kuwaiti government could help Pakistan by encouraging the fund as well as the Kuwait Investment Authority to finance development projects and invest in various sectors of its economy.
He said the Kuwaiti public and private sectors could take advantage of Pakistan’s investment-friendly policies and invest in various sectors, including agriculture and energy.
President Zardari expressed his gratitude for the people and government of Kuwait for their generous support to Pakistan in difficult times, particularly after the 2005 earthquake and last year’s floods.
He thanked the Kuwaiti amir for hosting and looking after around 150,000 Pakistanis working in various fields and said recruitment of more skilled and semi-skilled Pakistani manpower would help Pakistan overcome unemployment.
He called for easing visa restrictions to resolve the problems faced by Pakistani businessmen, bankers and other professionals in visiting Kuwait.
President Zardari called for increased defence and parliamentary cooperation through bilateral visits.
Praising the role of the Sabah family and the Kuwaiti leadership in strengthening relations with Pakistan and their close association with the Bhutto family, he said that during all the PPP governments there had been a marked upswing in relations between the two countries.
The amir of Kuwait praised Pakistan’s support in efforts to liberate his country following the invasion by Iraq in 1991 and offered his support for increased cooperation between the two countries.
BUSINESSMEN: Talking to a delegation of the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the president promised full protection of foreign investment and invited Kuwaiti businessmen and entrepreneurs to take advantage of Pakistan’s investment-friendly policies.
He said that as Pakistan had steadfastly pursued liberalisation and de-regulation of the economy as well as a privatisation process, there was no upper limit on foreign equity and no restriction on repatriation of capital, profits and dividends.
The president, who arrived here on Saturday for a two-day visit, said that with an attractive package of tax incentives, investment in Pakistan was given comprehensive legal protection.
He said that after a bilateral Agreement on Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of Investment during the visit of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in February, concerns that a prospective Kuwaiti investor might have about the safety of investment should be put to rest.
He said a number of areas, including energy, downstream oil industry, port development, mining and minerals, corporate agriculture, livestock and dairy development, construction, textiles, banking and financial sectors, offered lucrative opportunities and were open for investment in Pakistan.
The president said that despite a complex regional situation, Pakistan had done remarkably well in the economic field; the stock exchange was thriving, foreign remittances and foreign currency reserves are reaching a record level and exports were expected to touch a new high figure in the current financial year.
He said there remained an untapped potential for a quantum jump in the volume of trade between the two countries.
He said the trade volume in 2009-10 was $2.2 billion, with Pakistan’s exports at merely $87 million against $2.1 billion imports, primarily of high speed diesel.
The president said Pakistan was universally acknowledged for its basmati rice, textiles and clothing, sports goods, surgical instruments, carpets, marble, tents and many other products and increased buying of these products by Kuwaiti importers could help address to some extent the imbalance in bilateral trade.
A senior executive of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Sheikh Talal Al Khalid Al Jabbar Al Sabah, also called on the president.
Bhasha, Tarbela dams
The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) announced that it would participate in the financing of Bhasha Dam and desilting of Tarbela Dam projects in Pakistan.
The announcement was made by DG Kuwait Fund Abdulwahab Ahmad Al-Bader during his meeting with President Zardari here at Bayan Palace on Sunday after the president invited the Fund to participate in the desilting of Tarbela Dam project, the feasibility of which would be ready by July this year.—APP
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