Federal State Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Senator Tariq Azeem has said that government considering establishment of Overseas Pakistanis Investment Fund (OPIF) to attract expatriates utilise investor-friendly environment for reaping great dividends like other multinational companies.
Addressing overseas Pakistanis at Pakistan High Commission here late Tuesday he said about eight million expatriates were a valuable national asset but regretted that their potential was not fully exploited in the past.
Pakistan's High Commissioner to Britain Dr Maleeha Lodhi was also present on the occasion.
This fund would be totally managed by the expatriates while the government would simply play a role of a facilitator. It will be overseas themselves to decide where to invest the money and when to take it back.
He hoped overseas Pakistanis who had enough expertise to manage such a fund, would step forward to make it a success.
Their support in this regard would help restore confidence of other investors as they were best placed to capitalise on current promising business prospects because they knew how to get things moving in their country of origin.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz who spent major part of his life abroad was fully cognisant of their problems and the first meeting he held outside the country soon after assumption of office, was with a delegation of expatriates in Saudi Arabia, he said.
He said the government is planning to launch two schemes 'Know Your Pakistan' and 'Help Your Pakistan' to utilise the talent of overseas Pakistanis in economic development and improving the country's image.
Tang said government was particularly targeting small and medium investors and would do all it could to help them.
He specially praised the single biggest foreign investor in Pakistan in person of Sir Anwar Pervez here who had invested 200 million dollars alone. He also made special mention of Akhtar Computers for doing a good job of portraying image of the country and helping Pakistan High Commission prepare its web site, free of cost.
Answering a question he gave full credit to Dr Maleeha for mobilising the community here and setting up a modernised Visa and Passport Section to provide good and efficient consular service to the community. This section has been opened a few days back and the expatriates were appreciative of the facility. The minister urged the expatriates that if they could pool their money to set up business groups, they would be able to better use the current investment climate in the country.
Prominent among those present on the occasion included Labour Party prospective candidates from Brent Yasmin Qureshi, Chairman UK Pakistan Overseas Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ikram Khan, Chairman Chaudhry Rehmat Ali Memorial Committee UK Chaudhry Mohammad Aslam, member AJK Legislative Assembly for Overseas Kashmiris Chaudhry Muhammad Khan, businessman Chaudhry Mahboob and Chairman All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference Overseas Liberation Board and others.
Tariq Azeem said the real potential of expatriates particularly of the second and third generation, should be utilised for the progress of the country of their origin. It is not only the foreign remittances they send rather they could do much more in fields of education and health by working as volunteers for one year or two.
Referring to the 600,000 Kashmiris living in the UK, he said, if each of them could brief his immediate neighbour about the case of Indian occupied Kashmir, there would be same number of British people knowing their just cause in a year time.
Similarly overseas Pakistanis potential should he exploited by the tourism department as it could earn the country seven million sterling pounds per year if one, out of one million Pakistanis, travelled to Pakistan once in ten years and spend just 1,000 sterling pounds.
On investment opportunities, he said, Pakistan was open to investment as a result of economic reforms and continuity in the economic policies of the government during past many years.
He said an investment conference would be held in last week of December to spur investment in the country.
Responding to a question, he said that PIA was under instructions to fly back bodies of Pakistanis who died abroad, free of cost but those who wanted to pay would continue to pay the fare.
He assured the expatriates that he would take up with the concerned authorities their complaints regarding confirmation of tickets and reminded the national carrier that it attained its current position due to expatriates as its customers.
He also promised to take up their complaints that overseas were being robbed of their belongings by the organised gangs of pickpockets operating at the airports.