ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Monday apprised the cabinet members of the outcome of his recent successful visits to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and State of Qatar, terming these as ‘successful and productive’.
The prime minister, while addressing the cabinet’s meeting, said that he held very productive and useful consultations with the leadership of KSA and Qatar wherein different subjects like solar energy, mines, minerals and IT sectors were thoroughly discussed during the bilateral meetings.
He said a delegation of Qatar Investment Authority would soon visit Pakistan as Qatar had announced to invest $3 billion in Pakistan, adding Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, during a meeting, had told him that there was immense potential of IT trained people and asked him to send the skilled people from Pakistan to the Kingdom since they required it.
Amir of Qatar also hinted at setting up an IT park in Pakistan, he added. The prime minister said whereas Pakistan and Azerbaijan had also agreed to enhance the bilateral investment to $2 billion in diverse areas.
He said the understanding between the two countries was reached during a visit of Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev in the shape of signing of agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs).
PM expresses satisfaction at economic stability, inflow of foreign investment
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Monday expressed his satisfaction over the economic stability in the country and the inflow of foreign investment.
He said that the State Bank of Pakistan had reduced the policy rate by 250 basis points and with its reduction, the interest rate had been brought down to 15 percent from 17 percent, adding that it would increase the business activities, boost exports and generate employment opportunities.
Addressing a meeting of PML-N parliamentary party at the Parliament House, the prime minister said that due to government’s efforts, the inflation rate was also reduced from 38 percent to 7 percent and observed that all the global and national institutions were projecting economic stability in the country.
“The evil machinations of those who were out to create chaos and those who pushed the country to verge of default have been foiled,” PM Office Media Wing, in a press release quoted the prime minister as saying.
He further said that the history would always remember those who had staked their politics for the sake of country’s survival, adding the historians would always wrote about those who worked for the sake of the country and those elements who addressed letter to International Monetary Fund (IMF) to halt country’s financial programme.
The prime minister also lauded the members of parliament belonging to PML-N for sacrificing their politics for the sake of country and said that they had thought about 240 million people.
He said that during his recent visits to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a new chapter
of economic partnership between the two countries had been added.
During the participation in the Future Investment Initiative, he held detailed meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, adding Saudi Arabia was a close friend and partner of Pakistan and its leadership had assured all kind of assistance to support economic stability and country’s development.
He said that volume of Saudi’s investment would increase from $2.2 billion to $2.8
billion. The prime minister said that during his visit to Qatar, its leadership also assured
investment in Pakistan and in the bilateral meeting with its leadership, they discussed shaping worth $3 billion projects in this regard.
Qatar would invest in aviation, hoteling, IT, energy and other sectors, he said,
adding that the government was taking all steps on priority basis to facilitate and
encourage the foreign investment.
The prime minister maintained that they had been enforcing reforms agenda in
every sector of the country. He said that he had directed FBR to accord respect to those who paid taxes as they were the ambassadors of Pakistan.
Those who evaded paying taxes despite eligible to pay such and those officers who
facilitated them, should be proceeded against, he stressed. In the meeting, the parliamentary party members were also taken into confidence over the proposed legislation in the parliament.
