News
Saturday, May 07, 2011
Pakistan needs a charter of economy: Zardari
* President calls upon business community, entrepreneurs and political parties to join hands to meet economic challenges
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari said on Friday that the country needed a charter of economy on the lines of the charter of democracy (CoD) to steer the nation out of the present economic straitjacket.
The president called upon the country’s business community, entrepreneurs and political parties to join hands in collectively meeting the economic challenges facing the country.
Talking to representatives of foreign exchange companies at the Presidency, Zardari hailed the initiative undertaken recently by the Pakistan Economic Forum in bringing together all political parties and business houses on its platform to evolve a collective approach to solve the country’s economic problems, and said the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) would also participate along with other parties in the deliberations on the economic issues.
He also called upon the forex companies to play an active role in rendering support for evolving a charter of economy, and asked them to take steps to encourage overseas Pakistanis to avail from the government’s incentive package for expatriate Pakistanis to send home remittances through legal channels so as to maximise the inflow of the capital.
“By giving incentives to Pakistanis living abroad, our foreign remittances, which were $6.4 billion in 2007, have significantly increased and are set to cross $11 billion mark this year,” he said, adding that “the country’s foreign exchange reserves have reached to record $17.5 billion”. It is a collective responsibility of all to work together and join hands to overcome the challenges of the current economic situation and put the economy back on track,” added the president.
The delegation of the foreign exchange companies which included Haji Haroon of H and H Exchange Company, Malik Muhammad Bostan of Pakistan Currency Exchange Company, Sheikh Alauddin of Ravi Exchange Company, Zafar Paracha of Paracha International Exchange, Nasir Yousaf of Habib Qatar International Exchange Pakistan and Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan adviser Naeemuddin thanked President Zardari for the meeting and also apprised him about various issues relating to their business. They also assured the president of their support to the government’s initiative of curbing illegal flows of remittances.
Among others the meeting was also attended by State Bank of Pakistan Governor Shahid Kardar, Finance Secretary Waqar Masood Khan, Overseas Pakistanis Division Secretary Amjad Ali Khan and Federal Board of Revenue Chairman Salman Siddique.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk