Minister for Planning, Development and National Reforms Ahsan Iqbal said on Thursday that successful completion of Pak-China Economic Corridor would help usher in a new era of development in the country.
Speaking as chief guest at the concluding ceremony of Global Entrepreneurship Week, organized by Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ahsan Iqbal said that all out efforts were being made to bring foreign investment into the country.
Terming the prevalence of stability and peace as essential, Iqbal said that no development goal could be achieved without security or stability in the country.
“Every segment flourishes in a peaceful environment and the government has been making strides in achieving this goal”, he said. The government is following a policy based on “no compromise on achieving peace and stability” which in turn is proving fruitful in gaining economic prosperity and well being.
If the country is to bring in foreign investments then stability and consistency of policies have to continue.
Recalling the time when the PML (N) government came into power after the general elections, he said the country was facing numerous challenges of terrorism, extremism, disturbed law and order, economic crunch in addition to dried up foreign reserves of $6 billion.
He said that the international media had declared the country “a haven for the terrorist elements” but today they are praising the polices adopted by the government and are saying that Pakistan has become a heaven for foreign investment.
“We need to see the glass half full instead of cursing the empty half. We are a self critical nation but never consider that we have made lots of achievements in the development sector. So, we need to adopt an optimistic approach instead of being pessimists,” the minister said. “Alhamdolilah the global perception about the country has improved considerably.”
The country’s foreign reserves have swelled to $20 billion and International ratings are showing healthy signs which are mandatory to achieve the economic development goals, he said.