Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani Saturday said he was pursing the policy of reconciliation to promote political and economic stability in the country.
He said this while addressing the fourth edition of the Brands of the Year Award ceremony held at the Governor’s House in the metropolis.
Gilani said stability in Karachi was imperative for strengthening the economy, which would lead to overall political stability. He congratulated the people of Karachi on organising peace walk and said participation of all political parties had made a success. Speaking about Brands of the Year Award, he said the initiative had provided a forum to exhibit the best brands of Pakistan every year, which were later evaluated to determine their demand in the market and the preference of the consumers.
Gilani said for the first time in the history of Pakistan, the country would be able to earn $25 billion through exports.
“Our forex reserves have exceeded $18.20 billion mark and these continue to rise at a reasonable rate,” he said, adding that remittances from Pakistanis living abroad were also touching an all time high mark of $12 billion, and progress would be made despite serious internal and external challenges. “Many challenges we face at present also pose problems beyond our borders, whether it is tackling climate change or fighting terrorism or global recessions. All these problems require global solution.” He said countries all over the world were reviewing their national identities and priorities as they compete with neighbours and regional blocs for power, influence and wealth. Gilani said only those countries would benefit which could create high-valued products and services and train people in order to equip them with best skills.
Gilani said in order to safeguard the intellectual capital of branding, he felt pleased to inform that IPO Pakistan had opted to conduct the first ever Intellectual Property Survey in Pakistan in collaboration with the Brands Foundation. “The corporate community will have to make it a success in their own interest so that their Intellectual Property Rights can be protected.”
Gilani said he also acknowledged the role of private sector for their endeavours in revenue generation, creation of employment opportunities, maintaining industrial growth and contribution to overall economic development. He noted that the significance of brands could easily be understood by the fact that economy of the today’s world was driven by fortune brands that hold 40 per cent share of the total GDP of the world, equivalent to US$ 60 trillion.
“It will be worthwhile to know that 65 percent of the world’s total economy lies with brand owners, while annual turnover of some of these fortune brands is far bigger than some developed countries annual budgets.” He said in the wake of the importance of brand equity development the target should be to improve brands to the level where consumer felt pride in using the products.
To attain this status one had to keep pace with the technological advances and consumers’ needs through innovation, he added. Gilani stressed the need of a greater emphasis on enhancing technological capabilities and ability to innovate. He was of the view that there were no short-cuts to economic prosperity and he did not think that the road ahead would be an easy one. “But if all stakeholders work together, I am confident that we can build a more prosperous and stable economy,” he
