Davos visit: Pakistan’s economic strength highlighted at global platform

1
135

 

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his visit to Switzerland has highlighted Pakistan’s economic strength in an effective manner and presented the country as a secure investment destination that ‘no global player can miss’.

Amid the freezing temperatures of Davos where the world’s leading businessmen gathered at World Economic Forum, the prime minister took the opportunity to get his message across at the global platform, projecting Pakistan’s success stories in areas of economy and security.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his interaction with the chief executive officers of diverse international companies apprised of Pakistan’s attractive economic and investment policies and invited them to benefit from the country’s economic revival.

The prime minister also called for creating a global environment in which the world economy could rejuvenate and revive.

He termed coming to the World Economic Forum a great opportunity to meet global thinkers, policymakers and business leaders who shape the future of the people. He told the world business giants and representatives that Pakistan was an inclusive, tolerant and forward-looking society.

The prime minister held several sideline meetings with world leaders and discussed issues of bilateral interests.

In a meeting with his Norwegian counterpart Erna Solberg, the prime minister called for exploring new avenues of cooperation in the fields of trade and development. The two leaders vowed to further strengthen bilateral relations in the interest of their countries.

The meeting with Prime Minister of Sweden Stefan Löfven focused on working closely at the government and people to people levels. The prime minister shared with his Swedish counterpart Pakistan’s concerns over the situation in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and briefed him about the plight of innocent Kashmiris.

In a meeting with President of the Swiss Confederation Doris Leuthard, the prime minister expressed Pakistan looked forward to enhancing bilateral partnership in diverse areas.

He also discussed Switzerland’s objective, non-discriminatory and criteria based approach on Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership, terming it as commendable.

In a meeting with the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the prime minister said that Kashmir was an international dispute, which remained on the agenda of the UN Security Council.

He also updated the UN Secretary General on Pakistan’s stance and the need for sustained dialogue process with India on all outstanding issues, including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

In response to the prime minister’s efforts of highlighting the Kashmir issue, the UN Secretary General assured to play a very constructive and positive role for countries in the region including Pakistan.

The prime minister at a roundtable meeting with the heads of top ranking companies offered them to invest in Pakistan.

The chief executive officers (CEOs) present at the roundtable included Tadashi Maeda, Chief Executive Officer, Executive Managing Director, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Tokyo, Japan, Ms. Ilele Gordon, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Ingredion Incorporated, USA, Levent Cakiroglu, Chief Executive Officer, Koc Holding, Turkey, Sigve Brekke, President and Chief Executive Officer, Telenor Group, Norway, Ms. Wang Ling, Executive Vice President, Nestle, Ms. Petra Lox, Head Public Affairs, Novartis AG, Switzerland, Martyn Parker, Chairman, Global Partnerships, Swiss Re Management Ltd United Kingdom, Western Europe.

The prime minister also informed the CEOs about Pakistan’s Special Economic Zones (SEZ), which provided tax holiday for investors with duty-free import of plant and machinery.

Bill Gates, entrepreneur and head of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in a meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appreciated the tremendous success of Pakistan in eradication of polio virus from the country over the past three years.

The prime minister briefed Bill Gates on the measures taken by his government in the national fight against the deadly polio virus.

Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma in a meeting with the prime minister evinced keen interest in investing in Pakistan and to build an e-commerce platform to further promote online business ventures.

Jack Ma said his country had a lot of interest in investing in Pakistan as they had closely followed positive economic developments in the country.

The prime minister also held a meeting with Chairman WEF Klaus Schwab and informed him that Pakistan was now attracting business groups from abroad based on improved security and energy sectors.

Klaus Schwab appreciated the progress of Pakistan in the infrastructure sector and commended its readiness to lead the regional connectivity initiative with Central Asia.

The prime minister also held meetings with Group CEO of VimpelCom, Jean Charlie; CEO Procter and Gamble and CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Jose Vinals on the margins of the 47th World Economic Forum.

1 COMMENT

  1. Simple law of supply and demand, nobody will invest where there are no consumers only cheap substandard manufacturers without any local demand

    It seems hilarious how a loan from Chinese to build a route for Chinese exporters made Pakistan a economic power
    Don’t bluff. Don’t fool

Comments are closed.