It gives me immense pleasure to express my heartfelt felicitation to the Pakistani community on the 6Oth Independence Day of Pakistan. Aug. 14 is the day of renewal of our pledge to make Pakistan a prosperous, strong and a developed country.
We are grateful to Allah Almighty for blessing us with a sincere and dynamic leadership which is making all out efforts to make Pakistan economically a vibrant country in consonance with the aspirations of the people and guidance of Quaid-e Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah — the founder of Pakistan.
I am also thankful to the Pakistani community in Western Region who have been supportive of the Consulate General to bring about a positive change and make a worthwhile contribution in strengthening Pakistan-Saudi relations.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been enjoying strong bilateral relations, which are the epitome of complete uniformity and understanding. Both of them have been complementing each other’s efforts at all regional and international fora.
Pakistan has been fortunate to have had a period of stability and continuity of polices since President Gen. Pervez Musharraf assumed the office. He at the very outset articulated a clear vision for the future of Pakistan wherein the economic reform agenda figured most prominently, as this was a pre-requisite for improving the life of the accelerated economic development.
The government believes in continuity and consistency of policies of good governance, moderation and creation of an enabling environment for investment and trade. Pakistan under President Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has achieved desirable results both internally and externally.
Pakistan is witnessing an economic boom with GDP growth of 8.4 percent and foreign exchange reserves at the highest level. Pakistan could not have achieved such progress without the support of overseas Pakistanis, especially from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who have contributed foreign exchange of $750.44 millions to the state exchequer during the last financial year. The overall figure of the foreign exchange earnings from Saudi Arabia go up to $1.1 billion when the export earnings of $350 million are added to the workers remittances. At the end, I would like to impress upon all my Pakistani brothers and sisters to continue working with devotion and dedication individually and collectively for upholding the dignity and honor of a proud Pakistani nation.
(Pakistan Zindabad)
Masood Akhtar
Consul General