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Minister for Overseas
Pakistanis in Los Angeles
By Naushad Sarwar
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L to R : Ahmed
Ali, Pervaiz Lodhie, Arif Merchant,
Akhtar Faruqui and a guest |
L to R : Ahmed
Ali, Minister Tariq Azim, Consul General Jadmani and
Samin Faruqui |
L to R : Rauf
Ahmed, Abdul Suleman and Shahid Tarar |
Los Angeles: The prosperity
of a country depends on its per capita income, rate of growth,
quantum of exportable commodities, productivity, and foreign
investments. These are the indicators that testify to the
standing of a country in today’s industrial age. This
was stated by Mr Tariq Aziz Khan, Minister of State for Labor,
Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis at a dinner held at the Beverly
Hills Country Club on July 1, 2005.
“Overseas Pakistanis are playing a role model in the
country’s growth” by way of “overseas remittance
and investments,” he remarked as he paid a tribute to
the Pakistanis settled outside the country who continue to
make a concerted effort to contribute to Pakistan’s
development in various sectors.
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L to R : Karim
Ali, Hamid Malik and a guest |
L to R : Shafiq
Ahmed, Arif Mansoori and Ahmad Farooq |
L to R : Minister
Tariq Azim, Qutubuddin Aziz, Hussain Rokerya and a guest |
He informed the gathering of prominent Pakistani Americans
that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had formed the OPIF - Overseas
Pakistani Investment Forum – to give an opportunity
to overseas Pakistanis to be involved in the economic growth
of the country to a greater degree than in the past.
The dinner program was emceed by Consul General Mr. Noor Muhammad
Jadmani. It started with a recitation from the Holy Qur’an
by Mr. Shams Hasan.
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L
to R : Syed Hasan, Minister Tariq Azim, Major Adil Mujtaba
and a guest |
L to R : Anjum Ejaz and Samin Faruqui |
Shahina
Paracha and Zaheer Ahmed |
Minister Tariq
Azim has a
look at a copy of Pakistan Link |
The
Minister applauded the audience for attending the dinner
meeting on the eve of the 4th of July long-weekend.
“7.4 million overseas Pakistanis are a great asset
for the country,” he remarked. Each investment
and money transaction to Pakistan is recognized by the
government which has especially tailored a project for
the benefit of overseas Pakistanis who have made an
investment in Pakistan.
To achieve this objective, OPIF teams will be visiting
countries divided into 6 regions - Middle East, Far
East, Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia. |
L to R : Qutubuddin
Aziz, Hussain Rokerya and Rafiq Ahmed
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The
panel will meet business personae and furnish detailed
information about investment and business opportunities
available in Pakistan. Information will also be collected
on the core problems overseas Pakistanis encounter in
the investment process. “Meetings with local and
government institutions will be a part to confront different
challenges, ideas, and suggestions to accomplish the
goal,” the audience was informed.
Answering questions, Mr. Tariq Azim assured the gathering
that the government would do its best to facilitate
funding and provide assistance at every stage of the
investment process.
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