RIYADH, 21 February 2005 — Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz believes that today’s Pakistan is not yesterday’s. It is marching ahead on the path to progress. The middle class is growing; foreign investment is flowing in rapidly and because of anti-terrorism efforts, security is no longer a problem.
In an interview with Arab News, the prime minister highlighted areas of growth in the Pakistani economy. He mentioned that many foreigners are now flocking to the country because of business opportunities and how the Karachi Stock Exchange is at an all-new high because of the foreign investors. He also mentioned that Pakistan is at the crossroads of Central, Western, and Southern Asia.
Below is the text of the interview:
Q: Pakistan and India have recently made progress in their peace talks. However, the issue of Kashmir is still not resolved. When your government talks about showing flexibility on Kashmir, what does it mean? How far can it go in giving India concessions?
A: Pakistan believes that the core issue between Pakistan and India is Kashmir. The Kashmiri people who are largely Muslim have made big sacrifices. And they have suffered a lot. And there are many human rights violations as well so we believe that any resolution in the Kashmiri issue should reflect the wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiri people. In the last year we have started a dialogue with India to try to create a better atmosphere. We hope that eventually the issue will be solved by magnanimity, sincerity, leadership, and flexibility.
Q: Pakistani relations with Afghanistan have improved significantly and both countries are cooperating in the war on terror. Still, the security situation in Afghanistan is far from satisfactory, given the fact that much of the country is controlled by warlords. Do you think that the gas project from Turkmenistan to Pakistan through Afghanistan will be secure?
A: Actually, President Karzai and I discussed this in Jeddah on Saturday. He is very confident that Afghanistan will provide a safe energy corridor for Turkman gas coming to Pakistan which might even extend to India. I think the situation in Afghanistan is improving. We support President Karzai’s efforts to develop his country. Pakistan has been an active player and as you noted, our relationship with Afghanistan has been very, very cordial. There is the billion dollar trade that is going to take place between the two countries this year. There is potential investment. Pakistan is helping Afghanistan in many ways. It’s good for peace in the world.
Q: Your government’s policies have boosted Pakistan’s economy. Nevertheless, the security situation is discouraging foreign investors. What do you intend to do to boost investors’ confidence?
A: The security situation in Pakistan has improved a lot in the last year or so with the result that today you cannot find hotel rooms in Karachi, Lahore, or Islamabad. There are so many foreigners coming because they see the opportunity and the potential. Pakistan is a country of 150 million people, located at the crossroads of Central Asia, Western Asia, and Southern Asia. It has an economy which has reformed. It is growing at a high rate. Pakistan this year will be in the top five growth countries in Asia with a growth of 7 percent. Foreign investment is coming in very strongly. In fact, the Karachi stock exchange is at an all-time high because foreign investors are coming in and investing. The economy is growing. The middle class is growing. Investors from the Middle East are coming for real estate, construction, infrastructure and in many other areas such as telecommunications. So foreign investment is moving very well. And the existing investors are also expanding. Today in Pakistan there is no industrial unit which is not expanding, because the market is growing. Wherever you have high growth and the middle class is growing, things are created. So we are very pleased. Naturally for any country, security is important. But now it is less of an issue. We just had an expo and we had 50 percent more people than we expected so I think people see opportunities. Of course security is important and we are making great efforts to improve it. But as you know, a small minority can create incidents in any country.
Q: Pakistani opposition parties are insisting on President Musharraf giving up his army post and that they will continue protests. Do you think that this will in any way destabilize your government?
A: Opposition always have their views because they are in opposition. The fact is that the president keeping his army post was voted by a majority in Parliament. So if you respect democracy, democracy means the voice of the majority prevails.
Q: Trade between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is not as good as we might hope given our cordial relations. We find goods from your neighboring country India in our markets but not goods from Pakistan. Why is that so?
A: Our trade is now picking up. We just had the joint Saudi-Pakistani economic commission in Islamabad. And we are going to export more textiles and edible goods. There are many products we buy from Saudi Arabia and many we want to export. The most important area we want to see grow is investment. Saudi investors are looking at Pakistan very carefully. And we are hoping to increase Saudi investments. The path of Saudi trade definitely is on the increase and I am very pleased with the progress. Now with increased interaction between the two countries, we are exporting more to Saudi Arabia particularly textiles, rice and other foods.
Q: Has your government devised any plan for a long-term development?
A: We have 5-, 10- and 25-year plans. Pakistan of today and tomorrow is not Pakistan of yesterday. We will be among the top five countries in Asia in terms of growth. Your commerce minister was just there with a delegation, and he remarked to the Pakistani president that he was pleasantly surprised with the changes and transformations taking place in Pakistan: The improvement in infrastructure, the improvement in the standard of living, the signs of security. This is all part of a long-term vision. Pakistan sees itself as an important player in that region. We see ourselves as an anchor of peace and stability in that region for which we need a strong economy — which we are getting — good political process — which we have — and the third is security — internal and external. These three are improving in Pakistan. That’s why the environment is exciting.
Q: Recently a rice export delegation from Pakistan visited the Kingdom. What was the outcome of the visit?
A: I think this was commercial — private sector to private sector. Pakistan exports a lot of rice to Saudi Arabia. I think the delegates were very happy with the orders they got. Pakistani rice, especially basmati rice, is the best in the world. What we want is for governments to open doors. The private sectors have to interact with one other. Our government’s policy is totally regulated in allowing the private sector to conduct trade and commerce like yours. So I think the more people come and go, the better it will be. That is why I came to the Jeddah Economic Forum. Pakistan is being presented from the platform of the Jeddah forum to a large group of Saudi businessmen, intellectuals and civilian society, including a lot of women. This is very important so people can find out what is happening in Pakistan in terms of excitement, opportunities and potential.
Q: What is your opinion about the postponement of the SAARC summit?
A: We are really disappointed. I am the chairman of SAARC at the moment. We are disappointed because this delays regional cooperation in many fields. We told the foreign minister of India who was recently in Pakistan that we are disappointed. We think regional cooperation should continue even if countries have bilateral issues. We should not let the people of the region suffer because of differences between a few countries. We are hoping we will be able to convene the summmit shortly.
Q: Pakistan participated with a large delegation in the recent Counterterrorism Conference held in Riyadh. What were the recommendations given to the conference?
A: First of all we congratulate the Kingdom on hosting the conference. We think it was a very successful venture because it brought every country together. The Saudi proposal to set up a permanent anti-terrorism center is fully supported by Pakistan. There is a working group and Pakistan is expected to play an important role in that group. If we fight terrorism collectively, we are fighting it for our future and for our children’s future and for a safer and more peaceful world. In other words, Saudi Arabia’s initiative and the crown prince’s initiative is fully supported by Pakistan.
