Chairman Senate Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari has said that Pakistan is keen to build on the fraternal ties with other Commonwealth partners especially in the economic sector. He expressed these views during his speech on "Shaping Capitalism for Global Prosperity and Sustainable Growth" delivered on the occasion of lunch hosted by the Secretary General Commonwealth Kamalesh Sharma to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen's coronation in London, says a press release received here on Friday.
The Queen was joined by Heads of State/ governments or their representatives belonging to 54 Commonwealth member-countries. The Chairman Senate represented Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani. The Queen was presented a souvenir by the representatives of the Commonwealth community and a group photo was also taken on the occasion. During the event, Chairman Senate conveyed to the Queen felicitations from the government and people of Pakistan on the auspicious occasion of the Diamond Jubilee.
In his speech, Bokhari highlighted the need for developed and developing countries to promote sustainable and more equitable economic system. In this regard, he added, Pakistan provided a very attractive market in the present global economic turmoil with a 56 million strong workforce.
The Chairman Senate said that instability in the region had directly affected Pakistan, which had lost thousands of precious lives of civilian and military personnel in the ongoing war against forces of terror and extremism. "Pakistan also had to pay a heavy economic cost. The devastating floods in 2010 and 2011 had further compounded difficulties".
The Chairman noted that despite these challenges, Pakistan's economy had shown extraordinary resilience; GDP growth rate in the last two years averaged around 3.4 percent compared to less than two percent in the previous two years. Later, the Chairman Senate participated in the Diamond Jubilee Commonwealth Economic Forum at Mansion Hall, London.