KUWAIT: President Asif Ali Zardari while assuring full protection to foreign investments, on Sunday invited the Kuwaiti businessmen and entrepreneurs to take advantage of the investment-friendly policies of the present government.
As Pakistan has steadfastly pursued liberalization and de-regulation of economy as well as the privatization process, there is no upper limit of foreign equity and no restriction on repatriation of capital, profits and dividends, the President told a delegation of Kuwait Chambers of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), which was led by its Chairman Ali Mohammad Thunyan Al-Ghanim, here at the Bayan Palace.
The President, who arrived here in this oil-rich Arab state Saturday evening on a two-day official visit, said with an attractive package of tax incentives, investments in Pakistan are given comprehensive legal protection.
Advisor to PM on Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr. Asim Hussain, Secretary General M. Salman Faruqui, Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babarand Pakistan's Ambassador to Kuwait Iftikhar Aziz were also present in the meeting.
The President also referred to the signing of a bilateral Pak-Kuwait Agreement on Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of Investment during the visit of Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani in February and said after this agreement, any possible concerns that a prospective Kuwaiti investor might have nurtured about the safety of investment in Pakistan, should have been put to rest.
President Zardari told the Kuwaiti entrepreneurs that a number of areas including energy sector, downstream oil industry, port development, mining and minerals, corporate agriculture, livestock and dairy development, construction, textiles, banking and financial sectors offer lucrative opportunities and were open for investment in Pakistan.
He said owing to the economic reforms measures and the liberal investment regime, the World Bank's ranking for Pakistan as business friendly country have significantly improved.
The President said despite the peculiar environment due to complex regional situation, Pakistan has done remarkably well in the economic field, as the country's stock exchange was thriving, foreign remittances and foreign currency reserves reaching record level and exports are expected to touch a new high figure in the current financial year.
He said Pakistan located at the crossroads of Central, South West and East Asia, the country's proximity to China further accentuates its geo-economic profile.
Additionally, given its own market size of 180 million people, availability of trained human and rich natural resources coupled with business-friendly policies, Pakistan offers tremendous trade and investment opportunities, he added.
The President was of the view that with Pakistan and Kuwait already having a bilateral trade agreement as well as a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the chambers of two countries to boost their trade ties, there still remained an untapped potential to give a quantum jump in the volume of trade between the two countries.
He said Pakistan-Kuwait trade volume in fiscal year 2009-10 stood at US $ 2.2 billion, with Pakistanâ€(tm)s exports at merely US $ 87 million against US $ 2.1 billion of imports primarily of High Speed Diesel from Kuwait.
The President said Pakistan is universally acknowledged for its basmati rice, textiles and clothing, sports goods, surgical instruments, carpets, marble, tents and many other products. The increased buying of these products from Pakistan by the Kuwaiti importers can help address to some extent, the present imbalance in our bilateral trade, he added.
Earlier, a senior executive of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation Sheikh Talal al Khalid al Jabbar al Sabbah also called on the President and discussed ways and means for cooperation in oil and gas sectors between the two countries. They reviewed the vast potential for cooperation in the vial sector and agreed for more future engagements in this regard.
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