ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday called for financial autonomy of women and improving their access to financial services and credit to encourage women entrepreneurs.

The president, talking to the Group Chief Executive of the Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) Bill Winters, who along with his delegation called on him, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, said that economic empowerment of women would not only strengthen them financially but would also help uplift their families, besides contributing to the national economy.

He said that banks should support women entrepreneurs as well as enhance their representation in the banking sector. The delegation briefed the president about SCB’s contributions to Pakistan’s economy, the development and evolution of the banking industry, and the socio-economic development of the country.

Welcoming the delegation, President Zardari highlighted that Pakistan had taken steps to protect the environment and promote forestation.

He informed that the Government of Sindh had planted mangrove forests and earned millions of dollars by trading carbon credits in the international market.

He suggested that investing in the climate sector would help protect the environment. The president also called for investing in the agricultural sector as well as financing infrastructure projects in the country, especially small dams, barrages and power plants.

He said that banks should extend financial services and loans to farmers to increase their access to agricultural inputs. The president congratulated the bank on the completion of 160 years of successful operations in the subcontinent.

He said that the bank had played a commendable role in the evolution of the country’s banking sector. He expressed the hope that SCB would continue to play a crucial role in Pakistan’s economy, besides expanding its operations in the country.