PAKISTANI PRIME IN CHINA/
PM-Boao-Address
Gilani urges Asian leaders to join hands for economic-based regional
harmony/
Prime Minister of Pakistan seeks Chinese help in solar energy to meet energy needs,,
Talking to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Suntech
Power Holding/
Gilani urges Chinese EXIM bank to work on small, medium dams in
Pakistan,,Talking to the President of the Export-Import Bank of China =
DETAILS RELEASED BY PAKISTANI SPOKESMAN
BOAO, China, April 2 Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza
Gilani Monday urged the Asian countries to establish regional
harmony and sustainable development through increased trade and
economic growth.
"If we do not establish a regional harmony based on trade,
investment and economic growth, we fear we will remain hostage to
the past. We can break free of this past," the Prime Minister said
while addressing Asia's top leaders, corporate executives and
academics at Boao Forum for Asia's annual conference here.
The Prime Minister said the 21st century is the "Asian
Century" and mentioned that Asia's role in global economic order had
changed rapidly. He said China's role in Asia, and Asia's economic,
political and strategic importance was central.
He said by 2050, Asia was expected to account for more than
half of the global economy, restoring the world's largest continent
to its former position of economic primacy.
"In short, we may well be witnessed the birth of a new world,"
he said.
Prime Minister Gilani recalled the global recession, three
years back and said the world has not fully recovered as more
uncertainty lies ahead and the pace of growth has been slow and
uneven.
However to achieve this he said "we have to remain vigilant
and greater international coordination will be required amongst all
stakeholders and international financial institutions."
Prime Minister Gilani also shared Pakistan's economic
turnaround with the participants and said since his government was
sworn in 2008, democracy has made a come-back and the Parliament has
passed landmark legislation.
"Our constitution has been restored, judiciary is independent,
media is free, with over 100 private television networks and a
vibrant civil society.
He said new laws have empowered women, more authority and
resources have been transferred to the provinces. Institutions like
the Central Bank, the Securities Exchange Commission and the
Competition Commission were playing an active role.
He mentioned the many challenges that the young democracy had
to face and mentioned the fragile economy, that it inherited,
external shock of high oil and commodity prices, and the continuing
ravages of war in the neighbourhood.
"We have paid a high price for international power politics,"
Gilani acknowledged and said the Soviet-Afghan war left with more
than 3.5 million refugees in Pakistan, which the international
community appears to have forgotten about , but Pakistan continues
to bear this burden.
He said the war on terror has impacted the region severely,
has created a negative perception and made harder for Pakistan to
attract investment.
Prime Minister Gilani also mentioned the massive floods that
wiped out 2% growth of Pakistan's GDP and caused damages estimated
at US $ 10 billion.
He said Pakistan's efforts to create jobs for young people and
bring prosperity to citizens have been hampered, however the
government has taken bold and politically difficult decisions.
"We took austerity measures and froze Government expenditure,
eliminated tax exemptions and expanded the net, deregulated the
prices of fuel and rationalized agriculture pricing."
As a result, Gilani said the country was beginning to see
growth pick up to 4% this year, exports increased by a historic 28%
last year and tax revenues have showed a rise of 25% this year.
The Prime Minister said the government has made special
efforts to reach out to vulnerable groups and started a social
safety net programme that targets the poor, by using modern
technology, recognized by international agencies for its
transparency and effectiveness.
"We have provided Rs. 800 billion to the provinces for
programmes to allow more funding for the social sector," the Prime
Minister said .
He also shared Pakistan's new growth strategy that focussed
on; Preservation of economic stability, fiscal balance and job
creation. It also provided incentives for the private sector to
compete globally and led to liberal investment regime. He said it
allowed foreigners to participate in any sector with any level of
equity as there were no restrictions on the movement of capital and
there were no requirements for local partnership.
Gilani also mentioned the initiatives for deepening economic
relations with other countries and pointed to the tariffs
liberalization with China, a new Transit Trade Agreement with
Afghanistan, steps towards MFN for India, and regional projects in
gas pipelines and communication.
The Prime Minister also mentioned his governments renewed
focus on climate change and preservation of environment that
includes waste management, renewable energy and water conservation.
He said to develop a vision for sustainable development it was
important to benefit from the experiences of China.
Gilani also thanked the Chinese Government for its generous
hospitality. China's support for the Boao Forum reflects its
commitment to sustainable development in Asia.
The Prime Minister said Pakistan and China were bound together
by ties that have stood the test of time and recalled that last
year,the two countries celebrated 60 years of their all-weather
friendship.
"Our strategic and economic cooperation continues to deepen,"
he added.
Chinese Executive Vice Premier Le Keqiang in his welcome
speech said Boao, a small fishing village had now become a major
platform for the people to discuss the economies of Asia. He said it
showed how deeply Asia and China were connected to work collectively
for achieving the goal of sustainable development.
He said Asian economies had shown greater resilience during
the European debt crisis and mentioned that new era of technological
development in Asia was also in the offing. He said that Asia now
accounts to over 35 percent of world's GDP, however regretted that
overall economic conditions in some Asian countries were not
satisfactory.
He called for concerted efforts of the Asian countries to
address all the issues ranging from dealing with the disasters to
the development of its people. Maximum convergence of interests and
peaceful negotiations are required by the regional countries, he
added.
He said China has to play a fundamental role in defining the
economy of Asia with a more proactive strategy, welcoming foreign
investment, a competitive market place and an open economy.
Italian prime minister Marion Monti said Italy was facing the
Eurozone crisis and had the apprehensions and hope simultaneously
from Asia and America. He called for the European countries
especially Germany to change the economic policy mixture, and
putting in place more proactive policies for growth which can come
more from the supply side.
He said even in Europe, there could be a potential of
integration again. He said the Eurozone crises was being mistaken as
Euro crisis, which was incorrect.
Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Massimov said his country was
improving education, health and vocational training for youth
besides introduction of small and medium size enterprises. He said
Kazakhstan looked forward to enhancing its ties with Asia for a more
secure development.
Former prime minister of Japan Yasuo Fukuda in his opening
remarks said the most important objective is to attain deeper
understanding between the Asian states. He stressed the Asian
countries to act together for sound and sustainable development
through cooperation in wider areas. He mentioned the European debt
crisis and said the Asian economies emerged in a better way.
=MORE=
Gilani seeks Chinese help in solar energy to meet energy needs
BOAO (China), Apr 2 Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza
Gilani Monday said Pakistan could benefit from Chinese technological
breakthroughs in solar energy, to help it meet its growing energy
needs.
Talking to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Suntech
Power Holding, Shi Zhengrong here on the sidelines of the BOAO
Economic Forum, Prime Minister Gilani said Pakistan was seeking
alternative and renewable energy to help solve its energy needs.
Prime Minister Gilani said Pakistan's energy needs were held
up due to the severe electricity shortages and all measures were
being taken by the government to address these needs.
The Prime Minister also invited the CEO of Suntech to visit
Pakistan to personally see the potential of solar energy and the
needs of the industrial and domestic users.
He said Pakistan offered lucrative incentives for foreign
investors in all fields.
He specially asked for provision of solar energy to run the
tubewells in Pakistan's Balochistan province to help meet the
irrigation needs of the farming community.
The CEO of Suntech said solar was the most effective and
efficient mode of power generation in the shortest span of time. He
said the repair and maintenance were also easy and could be handled
by the locals without long training.
He said China was the world leader in solar technology and
said the electricity so produced was less expensive than the one
generated through diesel fuel.
He also accepted invitation to visit Pakistan.
FURTHER
Gilani urges Chinese EXIM bank to work on small, medium dams in
Pakistan
BOAO (China), April 2 Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza
Gilani Monday urged the EXIM Bank of China to focus on construction
of small and medium dams to help the country to meet its agriculture
needs.
Talking to the President of the Export-Import Bank of China Li
Ruogu, here on the sidelines of the BOAO Economic Forum, Prime
Minister Gilani appreciated the role of the bank in funding
different development projects in the country.
He particularly noted that the EXIM bank was funding projects
worth US $3.8 billion in different sectors of Pakistan. He said the
EXIM bank was playing a key role in the economic development of
Pakistan. He appreciated its role in funding of the major projects
like the expansion of the Karakoram Highway, Gawadar and the Neelum-
Jhelum project.
The President of the bank said Chinese companies were keen to
invest in Pakistan and said all measures would be taken to ensure
timely completion of the project that were vital to Pakistan's
economic development.
Prime Minister Gilani said a delegation from the Economic
Affairs Division will visit China on April 9 to finalise the
development projects.
He also directed the Finance Minister to ensure that foreign
investors are fully facilitated and benefited from the investor-
friendly atmosphere.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq
Awan, Minister for Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and Minister for
Water and Power Syed Naveed Qamar also attended the meeting.=/
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