ISLAMABAD, July 28: Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz while appreciating strong existing economic relations between Pakistan and Japan has urged the need for enhanced private sector trade cooperation between the two countries.
The finance minister was talking to a six-member delegation of Japanese businessmen led by Tohru Tsuji, chairman of the Japan-Pakistan Business Cooperation Committee (JPBCC), who called on him here on Wednesday.
Mr Aziz highlighted the major transformation taking place in the economy of Pakistan and said during the last year Pakistan achieved a higher than targeted growth rate of 6.4 per cent.
"This year's target is 6.6pc and Pakistan expects to achieve a target of 8pc annual growth in a couple of years," he added. The finance minister said the growth was largely emanating in the private sector, which had been given due importance and significance government help. "We have simplified the tax regime and eliminated undue regulations to improve the efficiency and productivity of the private sector," he added.
Mr Aziz said: "We are particularly focusing on attracting foreign investment in the country and appreciate our strong economic relations with Japan." He congratulated Tohru Tsuji and hoped that under his leadership the private sector cooperation between the two countries would get a significant boost.
The minister expressed the hope that Mr Tsuji would use his implacable accomplishments in the Japanese corporate sector to convey the success story of Pakistan and induce them to consider investing in Pakistan.
Mr Tsuji said that he was honoured to have been elected as chairman of the JPBCC. He said he was very impressed with economic progress of Pakistan as it offered good opportunities for Japanese businessmen.
He said that a slowdown in Pakistan-Japan economic relations after 1998 was a thing of the past and he was working very enthusiastically with the Japanese government, urging them to resume official development assistance (ODA) to Pakistan.
"Once this window opens a very large number of Japanese businessmen will be able to start economic operations in Pakistan." In a meeting with Federal Minister for Water and Power and SAFRON, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao Japanese investors' delegation showed interest in water and power sector projects.
The delegation expressed special interest in setting up a power project near Karachi on fast track basis to control the power shortages and load-shedding. The minister on the occasion said that country's economy is growing rapidly and Karachi is the biggest and economically most important city in the country.
He said that government's investors' friendly policies have resulted in pouring in of local and foreign investment in the market. He said that Karachi being the hub of industrial and commercial activities has attracted investment in different projects.
The minister said all these projects and commercial activities had increased the power demand of KESC resulting in a generation-supply gap of about 150-200 mw. The minister said that government was focusing on setting up the power projects for Karachi on fast track basis to bridge this gap on urgent basis.
Sherpao encouraged the Japanese delegation to invest in water and power sector. He added that Japanese investment in the country is dependent upon lifting of waiver of Yen investment in the country.
He urged the delegation to work towards convincing the Japanese authorities in this regard. Marubeni Corporation has been associated with infrastructure development in Pakistan since mid 1960s. It also installed generators, turbines and others equipment in Mangla, Tarbela, KANUPP, Chashma and other power stations in the country. -APP