Foreign Minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that the topmost priority of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government is to revitalize the national economy
ISLAMABAD (Pakistan Point News / NNI - 13th March, 2019) Foreign Minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that the topmost priority of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government is to revitalize the national economy.Addressing the Business Leaders Summit in Islamabad on Wednesday, the Foreign Minister said when Prime Minister Imran Khan ascended to power six months ago, he inherited a lot of challenges, including corruption, flight of capital, and other socio-economic ills, which had to be overcome.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the PTI economic team, under the leadership of Finance Minister Asad Umar, has taken many steps for economic uplift of the country during the first six months of the government.He said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has been elected on the agenda of change and the people will see change by the end of the tenure of the present government.Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the government is taking steps to create investment opportunities in the country and these steps have already paid the dividends.
He said the United Arab Emirates is taking keen interest in making investment in different sectors in Pakistan, while Qatar also plans to invest in the country's food processing industry. He said the government plans to make Pakistan a hub of business and investment in the region.The Foreign Minister lauded the European Foreign Ministers and parliamentarians for supporting Pakistan in securing GSP Plus facility for its exports. He said we are increasing bilateral trade with Iran, China and other countries of the region.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi said China is our strategic partner and we want to transform this relationship into an economic partnership.The Foreign Minister said Pakistan wants peace in Afghanistan and government is facilitating peace process in the country.Speaking about relations with India, Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Prime Minister Imran Khan since assuming the charge offered New Delhi a hand of friendship and asked for Foreign Ministers meeting at the sidelines of UN General Assembly to resolve all outstanding issues between the two countries through dialogue.
The Foreign Minister said Pakistan has taken several peace initiatives and Kartarpur Corridor was one of them. However, he said India never responded sincerely to Pakistan's peace overtures.Addressing the Business Summit, Finance Minister Asad Umer said the government is striving to bring reforms in the institutions. He said the best professionals are being appointed in the institutions. The Finance Minister said we are in the process of applying IT solutions to check tax evasion.
In his remarks, Advisor on Commerce, Abdul Razak Dawood said the process of industrialization has been started in the country, and the results of our policies in this connection will be visible in the coming months. He said our imports have already compressed as a result of our policies and these will be further compressed.Abdul Razak Dawood said we are also in the process of finalizing a strategy to remove bottle necks in the promotion of small and medium sector enterprises.The Minister said we have also reduced duties on raw material, and more steps will be taken in the next budget to strengthen the SMEs which have a bigger role to play in our economy. NNI
