President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain has said despite all odds Pakistan is moving towards progress which shows its God-gifted potential and abilities. He expressed these views while speaking at the LCCI Ambassadors' Dinner 2018. LCCI president Malik Tahir Javaid, vice president Zeshan Khalil and Ambassador of Turkmenistan to Pakistan and Dean of Diplomatic Corps Atajan Movlamov also spoke on the occasion. Ambassadors and representatives of over 50 countries and high government officials attended this prestigious ceremony.
Mamnoon Hussain said the economy of Pakistan is reviving and it is well on the way to record persistently better economic growth rate with every passing year. For example, the GDP growth for 2017-18 reached 5.79 percent as compared to 5.37 percent in 2016-17. He said the optimal and long term economic growth is only possible when all the sectors of economy supplement each other.
At present, agriculture, industry and services sectors are showing improvement, he said, adding: "We are marketing Pakistan in an aggressive manner at international level. The geo-political location of Pakistan has added a lot of value to its standing and it is all set to become trade and energy corridor."
The president said business community is the economic force for the country and its role is significant in economic uplift of the country. While expressing his views about the main objective of the event, he said heads of foreign missions are not just diplomats; in fact, they are the bridge for maintaining and developing contacts between respective governments and people across the borders.
LCCI President Malik Tahir Javaid said Pakistan has paid heavy price in terms of human lives and economic regression due to playing leading and active role in war against terror. Our forces are still engaged in curbing all the elements which are directly or indirectly involved in terrorism, he said.
Malik Tahir Javaid expected that the government will soon come up with an action plan for taking necessary measures to implement the FATF's anti-money laundering and terrorist-financing regulations. It is the need of the hour to plug all the deficiencies while being fully compliant to international conventions. He appealed to all the friendly countries of Pakistan to support in this connection.
The LCCI chief said Pakistan's economy has emerged as one of the best performing economies in the region. He said Pakistan is located in close proximity to high growth potential economies in the Arabian Gulf and Central Asian republics. The neighbouring countries are taking keen interest in investing in Pakistan which is all set to become a regional trade and energy corridor.
He said Pakistan is an attractive destination for 'halal' food, basmati rice, fisheries, marbles, pharmaceuticals, home appliances and light engineering products, especially auto industry due to its phenomenal growth on account of following the intensive deletion plan.
It is high time for Pakistan's economy to get a boost not by getting aids from foreign countries but by securing sufficient share in global economy through initiating joint ventures. Besides, Pakistan offers a wide spectrum of tourism ranging from religious to historical places and ancient civilizations to modern architecture.
The landscape of Pakistan has everything one can wish to see - mountains, valleys, rivers, seaside, deserts and open fields. Our culture is so rich and has so many diversities that make Pakistan stand out among the top tourist destinations around the globe, he added.
He said: "We firmly believe that trade is the key to continuous economic growth and improvement in the standards of living. Support of diplomats is required to achieve our international trade ambitions. It is needless to mention that the role of heads of foreign missions will be of key importance in this regard.
We look forward towards friends of Pakistan to get to the stage where we can achieve win-win situation. For that purpose, we have to exchange trade delegations on regular basis and allow our businessmen to freely interact with each other. The idea of holding single country exhibitions on reciprocal basis can create awareness about our respective strong areas. I have to emphasize that liberalized visa regime can greatly contribute to achieve these objectives."