Joint Ventures Among SAARC Nations Urged To Alleviate Poverty

Senior Vice President (SVP) SAARC Chamber Iftikhar Ali Malik Monday said better exchange, cooperation and building of joint ventures among SAARC countries would lead to development and help alleviating poverty in the region.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st May, 2018 ) :Senior Vice President (SVP) SAARC Chamber Iftikhar Ali Malik Monday said better exchange, cooperation and building of joint ventures among SAARC countries would lead to development and help alleviating poverty in the region. Talking to a five member SAARC chamber delegation here, he said: "It is time to ensure that SAARC's trade and industry comes up to a level where it can be truly perceived as an integrated community". He urged the industry to develop a concrete, doable and progressive roadmap to tap benefits of diverse sectors and resources of the SAARC member states.

He assured the delegation that Pakistani government is fully committed to assist the SAARC community to remove the roadblocks to trade. He further said that it was a proper time now for Pakistani businessmen to avail good business opportunities in the South Asian region as he was much optimistic that all SAARC state members would dissolve all their political and trade related issues realizing that over the next 10 years, adding "countries in the Asia region will play a competitive role in competing with each other or in parallel.

It will not be a single market like Europe. It will be a competitive market. Iftikhar Malik stressed the urgent need for fully exploiting the indigenous natural resources and untapped mineral resources not only to improve but to strengthen the socio-economic conditions in the region on the pattern of trade blocs like NAFTA, EU, ASEAN and COMESA.

He said "we all have seen that times have changed the concept and the economic prosperity and member countries have taken the lead which is much needed so that we all could take full benefits of the regional power to eliminate the poverty and bring self reliance and prosperity in the region like other global blocs of the world". He said People of the region have not given up hope and Pakistan's role, as the most important country in the region is vital.

Also, every time a difficulty has cropped up in the region, Pakistan has offered help and fulfilled responsibilities. He said Pakistan remains steadfast in its commitment to regional cooperation and connectivity for promoting peace and accelerating the pace of economic development. He said Pakistan has been following a policy to have friendly relations with the member countries of SAARC.

He said he will do his best to forge good relations with all SAARC members with an aim to achieve the goal of economic integration within the subcontinent for which removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers is a prerequisite.