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Sunday, July 18, 2010
Pakistan urges world to help war-ravaged economy* Qureshi tells FoDP meeting Pakistan has lost $43bn in nine years
* Exports, foreign investments have been badly hurt
* Holbrooke assures full help to execute projectsISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Saturday urged the international community and donor agencies to help and support Pakistan’s poverty-stricken economy that has been ravaged by war and the cost of terrorism.
Speaking at a ministerial meeting of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP) which was also attended by US special envoy Richard Holbrooke, representatives from the members of the FoDP and the World Bank, Foreign Minister Qureshi said Pakistan needed greater access for its goods in the international market, more foreign investment and institutional capacity-building along with budgetary support for poverty alleviation to win the war against terrorism.
He said Pakistan had diverted a significant portion of its resources from development programmes towards fighting terrorism and therefore immediately needed budgetary support.
Qureshi said with a little push from the FoDP governments, Pakistan could quickly get back on the path of significant economic growth with benefits trickling down to Pakistanis across the board.
Loss: “We have lost over 2,550 security personnel in our ongoing law enforcement operations. Our cumulative economic losses are also substantial and according to conservative estimates, Pakistan has lost $43 billion in the last nine years and our exports and foreign investments have been badly hurt,” he said.
Qureshi said Pakistan expected the FoDP partners to encourage their respective corporate sectors to invest in projects that were presented at a public-private partnership conference of the FoDP held in Dubai earlier this year.
Qureshi said the experience of over 600 foreign companies from across the world working successfully in Pakistan was a testament to the country’s great economic potential.
The minister said terrorism was a complex phenomenon with many intricate dimensions, which could not be defeated in a pressing economic environment.
Holbrooke: The US special envoy said all members of the FoDP should ensure a complete implementation of the projects identified in the meeting of senior officials for their early completion. He assured Pakistan of US help in the implementation on the projects identified in the energy sector. staff report/app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk