ISLAMABAD, Aug 29: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has emphasized the need to increase, expand and institutionalize Pakistan’s economic relations with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries for greater economic integration of the region.

The prime minister was talking to the executive president, Capital Market Authority of Oman, Yahya Bin Said Bin Abdullah Al-Jabri, who called on him at the Prime Minister’s House on Monday.

Mr Aziz said that there was a wide scope for further expansion and promotion of Pakistan-Oman economic relations to their mutual advantage. He called for greater interaction between private sectors of the two countries. “We welcome joint commissions to expand the economic cooperation between the two countries, he said.

The premier said that Pakistan was a country of 150 million people located at the cross roads of South Asia, Central Asia and the Gulf region, and it had the potential to become a hub of manufacturing in the region. The middle-class was expanding and its purchasing power was increasing rapidly, he observed.

“Our policies of liberalization, deregulation and privatization have yielded rich dividends, as the country is in a high growth mode having already achieved a growth rate of 8.4pc and poised to build upon the solid foundation provided by the long-term reforms carried out in the economy earlier. Efficiency and transparency are the watch words under the present setup,” he noted.

The prime minister said the climate of investment was very favourable in the country. He also referred to the boom in telecom, real estate, construction and economy. The country received foreign investment to the tune of $1.5 billion last year. He said that the mobile telephone subscribership was increasing by one million monthly and it had already swelled to 13 million.

The prime minister said the government was currently putting a lot of emphasis on expanding and enhancing micro financing facilities, especially to women with a view to accelerating poverty alleviation and improving their empowerment. He said that Khushhali Bank was playing a vital role in this connection.

The prime minister assured all possible assistance to Pak-Oman Company in carrying out its operations in the country, saying that it has a bright future.

The executive president informed the prime minister that his company was likely to launch its operations immediately after Ramazan this year.