Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that consistency in government policies for the last few years as well as the approach of liberalisation, deregulation and privatisation paid dividends and the country has made rapid progress.
He was speaking as chief guest at 'Tarraqui Ka Safar'- a ceremony held at a hotel here on Sunday night to highlight the progress made during the last three-and-a-half years in the departments of Labour, Transport, Industries, Commerce and Co-operation headed by Provincial Minister, Muhammad Adil Siddiqui.
Sindh Governor, Dr Ishrat-ul-Ibad Khan, Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, ministers, elected representatives, industrialists and businessmen were present on the occasion. The Prime Minister lauded the achievements of these departments and congratulated Adil Siddiqui and his team for the appreciable performance.
He said since President Pervez Musharraf came to power the country started its journey to progress and has made rapid headway but still we have to make much more progress to take the country further forward.
Shaukat Aziz said it is important that the policies that were devised were continued and that there was no U-turn.
He stated that the decisions are being made in national interest and in a transparent manner after consultation and suggestions from the peoples' representatives and the chambers etc.
Shaukat said gone are the days when SROs were issued either to benefit or to harm someone. Now the SROs are issued to implement the government policies.
He referred to the state of country's economy seven years ago and the turn-around that has been achieved since then.
Shaukat Aziz said we are in much better position now.
He stated that the governments' role is to provide an enabling environment conducive for investment so that economy flourishes and commercial activities gather pace and job opportunities are created.
The Prime Minister said the federal, provincial and district governments all have a role to play in this respect.