GENERAL PERVEZ MUSHARRAF

PRESIDENT OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN

Press Releases

President seeks US investment in progressing Pakistan  

New York, United States - 15 Sep, 2005

President General Pervez Musharraf today urged American businessmen to invest in Pakistan where the economy was on the upswing, law and order vastly improved and terrorism dealt a grievous blow—steps that have helped create a stable economic environment.

Addressing a luncheon hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce and the USS-Pakistan Business Council, he said that American investments, besides being profitable, would contribute to his government’s efforts to combat terrorism and extremism in Pakistan.

New industrial units and business opportunities mean creation of more jobs for the country’s unemployed youth thus engaging them in constructive activities rather than turning to other pursuits, the president told a gathering of representatives of major American companies and corporations.

“I urge you to invest in Pakistan to help us in fighting terrorism and extremism”, he said.

President Musharraf said that Pakistan has broken the back of al-Qaeda in the cities and towns as also in the mountains. The terrorists were on the run with their infrastructure having been smashed.

He said apprised the businessmen of the policies pursued by his government to turn the economy around when the country was practically bankrupt and even on the verge of default.

Today, he said, that Pakistan was a hub of trade, communications and energy for the entire region.

Underlining Pakistan’s strategic position, the president said the country was at the centre of the Persian Gulf region, landlocked South Asia as also the areas of Western China and South Asia. Pakistan provides the shortest route to those regions, making investments more profitable in a stable macro-economic environment.

Pakistan was also trying to create a peaceful environment by improving its relations with Afghanistan and India, he said. Pakistan’s ties with the United States were friendly, with Washington having conferred a major non-NATO ally status.

The president said the process of privatization was going apace as also steps to make the corporate sector more efficient. In this regard, he referred to the establishment of Securities and Exchange Commission.

In his 30-minute speech, President cited facts and figures about how his government had worked hard and put in place measures that led to accomplishment of a dramatic growth rate of 8.4 percent, the second highest in Asia. These included steps to check fiscal deficit, controlling inflation, reducing debt and boosting exports.

His government’s agriculture policies had led to a boom, with four crops achieving record growth, thus helping the uneducated unemployed to get jobs. Pakistan needed agro-based industries, especially fruit and vegetable processing units as well as dairy products.

As regards the educated unemployed, Pakistan’s IT sector had made a remarkable progress that has opened up employment opportunities for them. Stating that that the demand in the 150 million-plus market was outstripping supply, the president called for more units in such sectors as television manufacturing, refrigerators and tractors.

Poverty was on the decline as a result of the government’s policies, he told the gathering.


The president was given a standing ovation at the conclusion of his address.

Earlier, Lt. Gen. (RTD) Daniel Christman, senior vice president of the US Chamber of Commerce paid tributes to the leadership of President that had led to the phenomenal economic growth in Pakistan and a peaceful environment in the region. As an ally of the United States, he said the president was helping in eradicating terrorism.

The president was accompanied by Chairman Higher Education Commission Dr. Attaur Rahman, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Ambassador Jehangir Karamat, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to UK Maleeha Lodhi and Information Secretary Shahid Rafi.

The luncheon was sponsored by such leading companies and corporations as Citigroup, Coca Cola, Pepsico, Boeing, General Electric, Motorola, among others.

Press Release Source: http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/PRPressReleaseDetail.aspx?nPRPressReleaseId=1398&nYear=2005&nMonth=9