President General Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday promised all-out facilitation to Brazilian entrepreneurs for business ventures in Pakistan, stressing that the country offers a safe and legally protected environment on the back of a fast growing economy. Addressing a meeting of industrialists and traders, organised by Sao Paulo Chamber of Industry in this Brazilian commercial capital, the President said Pakistan is not only important for its business-friendly regime but also because of its key regional location.
He brushed off negative travel advisories as "contrary to ground realities", saying that perceptions are far from ground realities in Pakistan.
"There is peace and harmony in Pakistan and it will keep improving. Brazilian entrepreneurs should visit Pakistan and see for themselves a conducive environment which has been put in place," he said and added that it is the private sectors of the two countries which would take economic ties to a new level.
The President listed a number of initiatives followed consistently for an investor-friendly regime and said that international credit rating agencies have improved Pakistan's standing. "The government believes in deregulation and privatisation, and the country offers a very liberal and legally protected environment and finance and banking sectors are very stable," he said.
Musharraf said there is tremendous scope for cooperation in the areas of textiles, telecommunication , information technology, sports and surgical goods, ago-based industry and livestock, mining and oil and gas exploration, especially offshore exploration. "Pakistan," he said, "is a strong market of 150 million people and is located in the centre of Central Asia, India and the Gulf."
He said that interaction between the three regions takes place only through Pakistan.
The western Chinese region has the closest access to the sea to India and natural gas for India from Central Asian Republics, Iran or Qatar can only pass through Pakistan, he said.
In this context, the President said Pakistan is developing its infrastructure for linkages to Central Asian Republics. A new port at Gwadar is nearing completion, and road network is being improved, he added.
He said the GDP in Pakistan grew by 6.4 percent last year, and expressed the hope that the country would touch 7 percent growth rate this year.
The President informed them that foreign exchange reserves are equivalent to 12 months imports; exports have risen by 60 percent in the last four years and inflation is under control at around 4 percent.
The President said there is tremendous scope for mutuality of benefits from trade, investment and joint ventures between Pakistan and Brazil.
Investment, trade and commercial activity are the main sources for job creation and poverty alleviation, which is one of the strategic directions of the government.
He said that doing trade and investment in Pakistan would promote the common goal of addressing poverty and hunger.
He said Pakistan is looking forward in the future to a visit by a Brazilian business delegation. President Ad Silva has promised that a delegation of Ministers and business community will be coming to Pakistan for increased interaction and identifying areas of mutual interest.
On Pakistan's role in bringing peace and harmony, he said that the Government is vitally contributing towards promoting peace in the region and co-operating with Afghan and international security forces for peace on its western borders.
President Musharraf also informed the Brazilian investors about his vision of enlightened moderation, saying that the world must resolve political disputes to fight off extremism in the long term.
Vice President of Sao Paulo Trade and Commercial Association, El Fedro, in his address of welcome said that business corporations have become engine of economic development and added that economic ties between Pakistan and Brazil would be of mutual benefit.
Vice President of Federation of Trade and Industry of the State of Sao Paulo State Josio Ad Silva in his address said the organisation represents nearly 40 percent of Brazil's GNP and can build up great economic ties with Pakistan.
He welcomed the visit of the President to Brazil aimed at promoting better economic ties. He said the two countries can work together in the energy, oil and gas sectors. The delegation of businessmen accompanying the President later had direct interaction with business executives of Sao Paulo and discussed areas of cooperation between the two countries.
Later, Export Promotion Bureau Chairman Tariq Ikram made a presentation to the local investors about Pakistan' economic success and its thrust on developing trade with other regions, including Latin America.
Comments
Comments are closed.