PML-N Senator Ishaq Dar on Thursday urged US for greater investment in Pakistan energy and power sectors besides giving larger market access to the country''s agriculture and industrial products. He was talking to the head of a US delegation, Robin Raphel, Coordinator for Economic and Development Assistance US Embassy, who called on him here at Punjab House and shared his views on the necessary economic reforms to alleviate the poverty and bring economic stability in the country.
The two sides also discussed ways and means to work together to stabilise the country''s economy and create additional opportunities to provide more relief to the people of Pakistan. Dar urged the US to encourage greater American investment in Pakistan, particularly in its energy and power sectors, which have direct bearing on the country''s economy and wellbeing of the people.
He said that the US administration needs to make a paradigm policy shift to help Pakistan overcome various crises, rather than extending conventional aid. He added that improvement in trade and US investment would help strengthen Pakistan''s economy and generate employment opportunities that would consequently marginalise the threat of youth turning militant and extremist.
He told the US delegation that PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has proposed that all political parties must work out a plan of self-reliance, which would be the panacea of all economic ills. Dar expressed confidence that PML-N''s 10-point reforms agenda would prove to be a guiding light for achieving economic stability, eradicating corruption, strengthening the institutions and fulfilling the felt-needs of the people, and added that if implemented in letter and spirit, the reforms agenda could bring the country out of political and financial crises.
He said he hoped that the government, by implementing the agenda, would be able to improve the governance, and added that it was inevitable to cut down the expenditures and increase and optimise the resources, which would ultimately guarantee economic stability in the country.
He said that there was urgent need to bring structural changes in the performance of public sector enterprises to save the wasteful current expenditure of around Rs 250 billion. The PML-N leader said that the financial autonomy could be ensured only when the performance of contributors to the national income is enhanced and transparency resorted to in taxation system.