QUETTA, May 8: Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Mir Mohammad Yousuf has assured foreign and local investors of maximum security in Gwadar and other areas of the province.

He was delivering his inaugural speech at the International Conference on Investment here on Saturday.

"Recent Gwadar incident should not be taken as a serious affair," he told participants, adding that security arrangements at foreign-assisted projects, like Saindak, Rekodik and other similar plans, had been excellent so far.

The chief minister said he must praise the commitment of the Chinese government to the Gwadar project despite this unfortunate incident.

He said his government's main focus was on improving law and order by taking all necessary steps required. "I once again assure our valued investors that providing security will be our foremost priority," Jam Yousuf said.

The chief minister explained the significance of the Gwadar development and told the participants about the natural resources of Balochistan and its peculiar geographical location.

He said government efforts to link the Gwadar seaport with the Railways network of the rest of the country and its further extension to Turkmenistan, would not only create an integrated railways bondage between India, Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh and the Central Asian States, but also connect this hemisphere with the International Railways Club.

He urged the foreign and local investors to come forward and make investments in various sectors, as a new era of economic development in Balochistan was about to begin.

The chief minister said fiscal policies of the present government to foster higher economic growth, fight poverty and under-development had been appreciated on all forums.

He said: "Balochistan's natural resources offer lucrative opportunities to investors." Resources like copper, gold, gas and oil were yet to be tapped. Its rich marine life found along the 750-km-long coastal strip had yet to be fully discovered and exploited, he said.

"I hope your valuable capital investments, technological innovations, managerial skills and marketing experts would help harness these resources," he said.

The chief minister said that under an open investment policy, Islamabad offered incentives, concessions and facilities to domestic and foreign investors alike without any discrimination.

The managing director of Merck Marker, a pharmaceutical company, Mr Juergen Koenig, also spoke on the occasion and highlighted the steps his firm had taken in the province.