Professor Klaus Schwab, Chairman of the World Economic Forum Friday lauded the economic turnaround of Pakistan and said the country underwent a major positive change since 2013. Schwab made the comments here at the WEF Congress Centre in his meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Professor Schwab said it was part of his job here to look at the world how it was doing and "I must say Mr Prime Minister that your country is doing a wonderful job."
"There was no hope in 2013, but we now hear from the business community and the world that there is a lot of change in Pakistan," Professor Schwab said. The Prime Minister appreciated the holding of the annual forum and the role it was playing in integrating the world. He gave an overview of the positive indicators of Pakistan's economy and how it was being perceived by top international financial institutions.
He said country's GDP has grown by 4.24 percent in 2015; highest in last seven years, inflation was 4.6 percent in the same year, and in the first half of the current fiscal year, it is at a historic low of around 2 percent. He also mentioned the rise in the per capita income by 12.91 percent in the first two years since his government came into power. He said the country's budget deficit has been brought down from the projected 8.8 percent for fiscal year 2013 to 5.3 percent in fiscal year 2015, and is projected to be further brought down to 4.3 percent in current fiscal year 2016.
He said in the first two fiscal years, tax revenues have increased by over 33 percent, due to tax-net broadening and removal of special exemptions. He said with a downward trend in acts of terrorism and success against the terrorist outfits, Pakistan was fast turning into a favoured destination for business, trade and investment. He mentioned the growing interest of foreign investors in country's energy, telecom, infrastructure, urban development, agro-industry and textiles sectors. Professor Schwab is the Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, the international organisation for public-private cooperation.
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