Terming peace vital to pursue development agenda in the region, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi Wednesday said Pakistan is focusing on economic diplomacy to address the challenges of the contemporary world.
Addressing at the inaugural session of ‘Leaders in Islamabad Business Summit’, the foreign minister said peace in Afghanistan is important to realize the dream of progress and prosperity in the region, for which Pakistan is making persistent efforts and contribution. He said in view of ensuring peace, Pakistan has always emphasized on holding dialogue with India to resolve all outstanding issues. He mentioned that talks between the two countries on opening of Kartarpur Corridor, being held Thursday (today) at Attari in India, are also meant to ensure peace.
The minister said Pakistan is facing a challenging situation on the western front in Afghanistan as well as the eastern front. “We have a challenging situation on the western front in Afghanistan and we have a situation brewing on the eastern front. You saw what happened in the last few days post-Pulwama,” he said. “A war frenzy was generated for political considerations,” he said. “A political party not doing well, the economy not going well, diverting the attention of the nation and creating a bogey and Pakistan bashing is a vote-getter on the eastern side,” he added.
Qureshi said setting up special economic zones under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will encourage investment in Pakistan, leading to sustainable development and economic stability. He regretted that some projects, initiated by the previous government such as metro bus service, had burdened the already weak economy with heavy subsidies.
He said entering into $20 billion development projects with Saudi Arabia is another milestone for the country towards achieving economic stability. He said Pakistan is ready to introduce a new visa regime to promote tourism and culture. He mentioned that 125 countries will benefit from the new regime with ease in getting visas, and added that the step is aimed at promoting Pakistan’s peaceful image abroad.
He said Pakistan is not a poor country, but lacks proper administrative mechanism which led to approaching the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the past. He mentioned that Pakistan is facing the challenges including 6.6 percent fiscal deficit, 10-year burden of loans, decline in foreign investment, unemployment and one-third of population living below the poverty line.
The foreign minister assured that despite such challenges, the government is committed to making Pakistan a better place to live. “We want all Pakistanis to enjoy full opportunities of economic development and be proud citizens of their country,” he said. Qureshi expressed gratitude to European Union and the European Parliament for their support to Pakistan, adding that EU’s High Representative on Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini will be arriving in Islamabad on March 26 to sign several accords on Pak-EU strategic cooperation.
Published in Daily Times, March 14th 2019.
