Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said here on Friday that Pakistan "is ahead of many countries" in implementing economic reforms and improving governance.
"Pakistan has been ranked as one of the top ten reformers globally, and top reformer in the South Asian region," he said while delivering keynote address at the regional conference of 'Young Presidents Association' (YPO) at a local hotel.
Shaukat said that the country "is now very well positioned" to make the best of available opportunities. "We in Pakistan are determined to ride the tide of globalisation and turn this challenge into an opportunity," he added. About government efforts to develop the country as a modern developed Islamic state, he said that Pakistan has opened up to take advantage of opportunities presented by global economic integration.
"We are also striving to shore up our national security and domestic economy to safeguard national interests and to promote the welfare of our citizens," the Prime Minister said. Referring to the difficult times Pakistan was passing through seven years ago, he said that the present government, since then, "has implemented an ambitious and all-encompassing reform agenda", covering all aspects of national life - political, administrative, social and economic.
"This has brought about massive change in the country, and the process of national renewal is well underway," Shaukat said.
He said that liberal economic policies had attracted huge foreign direct investment in various sectors. Cellular telephony alone received FDI worth $295 million recently, he added. He said that the government was endeavouring to attract foreign investment in sectors like power generation and tourism.
The Prime Minister said that political institutions have been reformed, with greater representation to women and minorities and institutionalisation of democratic norms, while accountability and transparency are now the order of the day, he added.
He said, "We have all the sinews of a sustainable democracy--a vibrant opposition, a free media, an independent judiciary and, above all, an informed public opinion."
The government is open to constructive criticism, he said, and added that promotion of a culture of tolerance and mutual accommodation is indispensable for democracy to strike deep roots in Pakistan's body politic.
About broad-based reforms introduced by the government to devolve administrative authority from higher tiers of government to the local level, he said these were aimed at decision-making and service-delivery at the doorsteps of the people, and ensuring their participation in whatever impacts their lives.
In the economic sphere, he said, "we have successfully implemented a stabilisation programme and wide ranging structural reforms, which have put the economy back on the track of sustainable growth and poverty alleviation." Punjab Governor Khalid Maqbool was also present on the occasion.
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