Improving Pakistan's global image, growing regional relationship in economic terms, upgradation of infrastructure, especially the urban renewal, laying cross-border gas pipelines and enhancing social sector investment are future challenges for the government.
Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz stated this, while speaking on the first day of Pakistan Oil and Gas Conference 2004, organised by the Petroleum Institute of Pakistan.
Petroleum and Natural Resources Minister Nouraiz Shakoor said that initially successful investment of $30 million in exploration by Total, a French company, would fetch $2-3 billion further investment.
He said that the work on the pipelines of Turkmenistan and Iran are underway and could fetch good investment.
In the Pak-Iran pipeline the UAE investors are interested and for others investment is not the issue. The feasibility studies are being done.
Shaukat said that there was a need to improve the level of governance where the judicial system and quick decision-making was required. In the taxation system there was also a need to introduce reforms.
He said that regional geopolitical situation was also a challenge where Pakistan was improving ties with Afghanistan and India.
Trade between Pakistan and India would reach $1 billion during this year. With India confidence-building measures were underway and the recent Saarc Summit has helped a lot in this regard.
In the social sector, the challenges were large like educating the large skilled labour, need for which would arise in future as the growth momentum would build up gradually.
Investment in urban infrastructure was especially needed apart from other basic infrastructure investments like in water and power sector, Shaukat said.
APP ADDS: State Bank of Pakistan Governor Dr Ishrat Hussain in the evening session said that Pakistan will be able to reduce poverty by accelerating GDP growth to more than 6 percent and investing in the social sector particularly in education and health.
While briefing the participants of the conference, he said that Pakistan's financial environment tracing its recent history post 1998 era which was marked with uncertainty and geo-political dark clouds threatening Pakistan's economy to the wide-ranging reforms and successful macroeconomic stabilisation.
The governor elaborated on how the reforms in various fields had been institutionalised by adopting a series of legislative and constitutional measures.
Pakistan thus achieved fiscal strength and targeted growth rates on the strength of structural reforms.
These steps have been further strengthened by a vibrant financial sector which is now owned and managed by the private sector and regulated by an autonomous central bank.
He said that Pakistan economy improvement could be judged from the facts that it absorbed serious shocks including, drought, 9/11, movement of Indian forces on our border and terrorists killing in the country.
He also elaborated on tariff reforms, trade liberalisation and conductive environment for investors. Speaking on governance issue, the governor informed the audience that corruption at the high echelons has been checked by establishment of National Accountability Bureau, SECP, and full autonomy of the State Bank of Pakistan.
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