"Pakistan's external and internal debts have been reduced to half during the past seven years", Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said here on Friday. He gave facts and figures about the performance of Pakistan's economy for the past seven years at a book launching at the Prime Minister House.
He said that in 1999 Pakistan's external debt was 51.7 percent of the GDP, which came down to 26.3 percent of the GDP in September 2006. In 1999, the debt was 300 percent of the foreign exchange earnings, which is now 111.7 percent. The debt was 19 times of the foreign exchange reserves in 1999; now it is 3 times.
Similarly, internal public debt has also been reduced to half. The Prime Minister said: "Our economy has doubled during the past 5 years with an average yearly GDP growth of 7 percent, making Pakistan as one of the most attractive countries for foreign investment."
He said that Pakistan is one of the few countries which have adopted 'fiscal responsibility laws' to ensure openness, financial discipline and transparency for all times to come. He said that in a short span "we have regained our economic sovereignty and said goodbye to the International Monetary Fund for borrowing on its terms and conditions." He said that investors from USA, EU, Middle East and Far Eastern countries were rushing to Pakistan for investment, "as Pakistan is a market of 160 million hard working, intelligent and peaceful people".
He said that the present government believes in freedom of the press and welcomes criticism of its policies. Earlier, the author of the book titled 'Pakistan - Sovereignty Lost', veteran journalist Shahid ur Rehman spoke about the dismal performance of previous successive governments in Pakistan, leaving the people high and dry. The ceremony was attended by Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Mohammad Ali Durrani, economists, senior government officials, intellectuals and journalists.
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