Mayor of Brent Councillor Ahmad Shahzad has been appointed Pakistan's Honorary Investment Counsellor for London to help spur investment by interacting with potential British investors, said Islamabad's High Commissioner to UK Dr Maleeha Lodhi here late on Wednesday. She was addressing a simple ceremony at Brent Town Hall here which was organised by Ahmad Shahzad who on the occasion also launched the website: www.infopakistaninvest.co.uk and a booklet information for overseas Pakistanis for providing basic information to British businessmen.
Dr Lodhi congratulated Shahzad and said he would become the 4th Honorary Counsellor in UK, the three other were Sir Anwar Pervaiz, Muhammad Ashraf in Birmingham and Muhammad Ramzan in Glasgow. Deputy Mayor of Brent Councillor Column Moloney, Chairman UK-Pakistan Overseas Chambers of Commerce and Industry Ikram Khan, Secretary General Matin Khan and other community leaders were present on the occasion.
The primary responsibilities of HIC, she said, were to promote inward investment to Pakistan, identify potential investors to attract foreign investment, work as a liaison between foreign investors and Board of Investment and help it organise conference for the purpose.
Maleeha said one of the top priorities of the High Commission was to promote trade and investment between the two countries. She said direct foreign investment in Pakistan in 2003-04 was close to dollars one billion while in the year 2003-03 Britain was the second largest foreign investor because one of British Pakistani Sir Anwar Pervaiz purchased United Bank that year.
She hoped Ahmad Shahzad would support the efforts already being made by UK-Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Pakistan- Trade Investment Forum for encouraging investment in Pakistan.
She further said Pakistan right now had the most liberal investment regime, as No-Objection Certificate was not needed to set up any industry except arms industry or to repatriate money.
During a lively question-answer session, Maleeha categorically said that foreign investment in Pakistan was never touched even during the nationalisation of 1970s, so any misgivings on that count were misplaced. But she conceded the country was up against many challenges and was tackling them although it had a long way to go Pakistan had learnt from its past mistakes and now was a resurgent and a new Pakistan which was being steered towards a stable democracy.
However, she urged the community abroad to give their feedback on difficulties in way of their investment so that corrective step should be taken to remove those hiccups. She emphasised the need on Public-Private Partnership to promote investment as the Government alone could not achieve the objective.
She said the rational behind economic policies being pursued during past five years was that the "Government has no business to be in the business" but it was always ready to provide right advice to potential investors. She offered the community that those facing difficulties could write to Pakistan High Commission with plausible suggestions to solve them. She assured them that their proposals would be taken up at the appropriate level.
To another question, she urged potential investors to have a look at reports of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank to have a picture of the economic turn-around achieved by Pakistan during past five years and the kind of investor-friendly environment it offered. Over one hundred British companies were operating there and were reaping good profits, she added.
Overseas Pakistanis in partnership with the Government, which was committed to promote investment, could change the destiny of the country by making investment, said the envoy.
Speaking on the occasion newly appointed Honorary Investment Counsellor Councillor Ahmad Shahzad expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz for giving that honour to him. He vowed to work in close collaboration with Pakistan High Commission to promote investment in Pakistan.
He also launched a website on the occasion and a booklet, which contained information on various sectors best for making investment. These included oil and gas, energy and power sector, IT projects, agri and agro-based projects, textile sector, infrastructure, industrial infrastructure, health projects, mining and minerals, privatisation, service sector, tourism projects and other focused industry.
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