ISLAMABAD, Feb 21: The government is institutionalising the economic reforms it has introduced over the past seven years to ensure continuity and consistency, according to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

“We need to institutionalise our reform agenda which seeks to attract foreign investment in the country,” he was speaking during the inauguration of the Euromoney Investment and Finance Conference 2007 here on Wednesday. The two-day conference has been organised by the Board of Investment (BoI).

Foreign investors, fearing a reversal of reforms by future governments, had been demanding such institutionalisation and international donor agencies had always supported the demand.

The government was aware about the need to improve internal security for promoting both foreign and local investment, the prime minister added.

The prime minister said that the government was also working on improving the judicial system.

He expressed the confidence that the PML and its coalition partners would achieve a ‘remarkable success’ in the general elections, adding that the next elections would be held in a fair, free and impartial manner.

He said that due to economic reforms, Pakistan was now being recognised as one of the most attractive destinations for investment.

The prime minister said owing to favourable policy interventions and opportunities for business, the rate of investment has reached 20 per cent of the GDP.

“Pakistan has gained macro-economic stability because of major changes in the economy and structural reforms and it now stands in much more stronger position than ever before”, Aziz said.

He said with an average of 7 per cent annul growth rate, per capita income had touched $846 level and the size of the economy had swelled to $100 billion.

The prime minister called upon the investors to take full advantage of the liberal, investment-friendly and economic policies and equal opportunities and invest in various sectors, including oil and gas development, improvement of infrastructure, banking and services sectors.

He said the government was also ensuring alternate dispute resolution mechanism so that foreign investors should be encouraged to invest in Pakistan without any legal difficulty, adding that Pakistan had now become the most profitable destination for foreign investment.

He urged the investors to take full advantage of the existing economic dynamism, in the privatisation, stock markets, capital markets and asked them to bring their skills and capital in manufacturing, agriculture services or natural resources.

He said Pakistan also required investment for quality education, provision of better health care, tourism infrastructure, urban renewal and mega city programmes as well as developing rural economic infrastructure.

He also talked about agriculture sector and said that Pakistan was the 5th largest milk producing countries and there was a vast scope to further develop the agricultural sector.

“Pakistan is … already witnessing a boom and new companies are entering the field”, he said, adding that the country was already one of the fastest growing telecom markets.

Over $7 billion, he said, had been received in the telecom sector, which was still increasing due to growing demand.

The prime minister said the government was still facing a number of challenges in the shape of lack of oil and gas and infrastructure.

He said because of a rapidly growing middle class, Pakistan was gradually transforming into a major market economy with large product, services and labour markets and a world class manufacturing and servicing centre of the region.

“We are developing a network of infrastructure to leverage our position as a bridgehead for multiple corridors of cooperation involving energy, trade, transportation, tourism and people to people contacts.”